Pokemon: The Journey of a Lifetime
by thedraconicwerewolf
Summary: Ash Ketchum lives a normal life dreaming what most teens his age dream of, to travel all over the world and become a well-known Pokemon Trainer. He can't wait to get his Pokemon license and turn his dreams into a reality. However, things are about to go much differently than he imagined. He may be ready to go on an exciting journey, but is he ready for the journey to come to him?
1. A Typical Evening

Hello everybody! This is just a new story I came up with after going on a binge on the first season of Pokemon. I just had to get it out of my head, and I needed something fresh to help get my mind off of school work for a while. It's already been a month since school started, and I've already had to write about seven one-page essays and two full blown essays. I guess it serves me right for taking three English classes in one quarter, but I do admittedly need it in order to complete my major requirements. At least two out of the three classes are on subjects that I like, so I guess I really can't complain too much.

But enough about my rants and whatnot now. Let me just say a little something about this story. To be perfectly honest, this was something that I came up with like nine or so years ago when I was still in seventh grade. Back then, I had no idea how to use a computer and was pretty bad at actual writing. As such, I planned the entire story in my head and completed it within the year. Since then, it's been resting within the deep confides of my head to the point that I completely forgot about it. It wasn't until I went on my pokemon binge that I suddenly remembered about it and decided to put the idea down on paper. Granted that I don't remember the entire story word for word, but I do remember the main premise and can still structure a story around that.

With that said, I hope that you all end up enjoying this new story of mine and my first attempt at a Pokemon story. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story. Being that this is a new entry, it helps me to gauge what you as the audience is thinking. Until the next update on this or any of my other stories on here everybody!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: A Typical Evening<strong>

"_The battle's only getting more exciting by the minute, folks!_" a television announcer commentated animatedly. "_After an admittedly rocky start, this has proven to be an entertaining display of power. Despite being down to his last Pokémon, our promising challenger is giving the defending champion a run for his money. Might we be witness to a come-from-behind victory, or will their hard-fought efforts be for naught?_"

"Wow, this's so cool!" a young teen sighed in awe, his eyes glued to the action on the television. He was sitting on the edge of his computer chair with so much anticipation that it threatened to tip over at any moment. "There's no way Lance'll ever lose to that guy. He's the best trainer there is in the entire Kanto Region!"

"_Oh my, it looks like the challenger's Alakazam is readying some kind of psychic attack,_" the announcer observed as the camera was angled in a way to showcase both said Pokémon and its respective trainer. At the same time, the screen split into two with the second half showing the champion's, Lance's, graceful Pokémon gliding through the air right after he commanded, "_Quick Attack, Dragonair!_"

"_Now, Alakazam; Teleport!_" the challenger instructed. Just as the opposing Pokémon was about to make contact, the psychic disappeared and suddenly reappeared behind Dragonair. "_Now use your Psychic on it!_" The creature did as it was told and pointed one of its spoons to its opponent. The unaware target was suddenly sent flying towards the ground with an invisible yet clearly painful attack. It then bounced a few times before coming to a stop where it tried to get back up but failed.

"_Well, it looks like Lance's Dragonair is out for the count!_" the announcer observed as the stadium roared with excitement while the champion recalled the fainted Pokémon into its pokéball. The young teen could not help letting out his own little shout at the amazing display. "_Each trainer now has only one Pokémon left to fight with. Can our challenger handle one last battle with his Alakazam already worn out from two-and-a-half straight battles? Will he be able to muster a come-from-behind win and dethrone Lance from his champion's seat? This is all so exciting; I'm just itching with anticipation!_"

"_Heh, looks like it's all up to you now, my old friend,_" Lance was heard muttering to a pokéball when the camera panned over to him. He then exclaimed to the challenger, "_You're pretty good to have taken down most of my team. You even managed to catch me off-guard a couple of times. But let's see if you'll be able to beat my last and most powerful Pokémon! The stage's yours, Dragonite!_"

The champion quickly threw the ball out towards the arena where it opened up upon landing. For that split second, the field was engulfed in a white light. As quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared and left behind a large orange dragon in its place. It gave out a rather confident roar before assuming a battle stance.

"Whoa, there's no way that guy's going to get past that beast of a dragon!" the teen murmured as he stared in reverence at the mighty Pokémon. "That's Lance's ace. There's a reason why he always saves it for last; it never loses a key battle! Oh, I can't wait to see how this's going to end!"

"Ash, can you come down for a minute?" a woman's slightly muddled voice called out. "The professor's here to see you!"

"Aww, alright mom!" Ash begrudgingly replied as he got up and straightened his black shirt before heading towards the door. He never once tore his eyes from the television until he was out in the hallway. He then ran down the stairs in hopes to quickly greet his visitor and get back to the exciting match.

"…he's going to be fine," he heard his mother say in the living room. When he entered, he saw that the television happened to be on the same program he was watching upstairs. The battle had just started, and it looked like the Alakazam was opting for evasive maneuvers against Dragonite's Dragon Claws and Iron Tails. His eyes quickly became glued to the action, and he all but failed to notice their guest having a seat on the sofa next to his mom.

"Where're your manners, Ash?" his mother quickly chastised but not without a slight hint of annoyed amusement in her tone. "You should at least say hello to Professor Oak before being sucked into the television."

"Oh, that's quite alright, Delia," Professor Oak brushed off with an understanding smile. "This year's championship has proven to be quite exciting. Even I must admit that I want to see what the outcome will be before anything else."

"You two and your fascination with Pokémon," Delia sighed before turning her attention to the exciting action.

"_Despite clearly being worn out, the challenger's Alakazam is putting up one heck of a fight!_" the announcer exclaimed as the television showed both Pokémon battling it out. "_It's managed to dodge all the attacks and put in a couple of its own. But will this strategy be the one to end Lance's reign as the Kanto Region's Pokémon Champion? Can his final Pokémon keep up with this dangerous game of tag?_"

"_Your Alakazam's better trained than I thought,_" Lance grumbled, his voice laced with a bit of worry as he saw his Pokémon slowly being worn out. "_It's definitely given me one heck of a challenge, but let's see if it can handle this. Change of plans, Dragonite! Fly up to the sky and get ready to use Hurricane!_"

"_Use Swift to shoot him down, Alakazam!_" the challenger quickly commanded as said Pokémon took a split second to rest. He then lifted one of his spoons into the air and summoned a wave of white stars to fall high above the stadium.

"_Use Incinerate on those stars!_" Almost immediately, the Dragonite turned onto its back and stared at the oncoming stars. With a deep breath, it let out an amazing stream of flames that fanned out and set the falling stars ablaze. Having lost their intended momentum from the opposing attack, they fell harmlessly to the ground before disintegrating into ashes. "_Now get back to Hurricane before he tries anything else!_"

"_Uh, t-try using Teleport to get up there!_" the challenger hesitantly suggested. At the same time Dragonite turned his gaze back to the battle field and started to heavily beat its wings, Alakazam disappeared once more. This time, it reappeared on top of the dragon's back and surprised it enough that it stopped trying to use Hurricane! "_Alright; great job! Now let's send it crashing down with Thunder!_"

"_Oh no; hurry and shake it off, Dragonite!_"

Try as it might to rid itself of its unintended passenger, the psychic Pokémon held on for dear life as it began to generate an electrical charge. At the same time, the entire stadium air was charged with anticipation. The entire audience, including the three television viewers in Ash's living room, were anxiously waiting to see what will happen next.

"_Well, this is an interesting turn of events, folks!_" the announcer explained. "_Dragonite isn't weak against electric attacks, but it's been tired out from making attacks that don't connect. And being that Alakazam is strong and at such close range, this next attack could possibly severely weaken Lance's Pokémon if not cause it to faint. We might actually bear witness to his defeat today! How is our champion going to get out of this mess?_"

"_Grrr, use Slam with your back to the ground before it electrocutes you! If it still shocks you, then we'll at least try to take it down with us!_"

"_Don't let go of him until you cast Thunder, buddy!_"

"Hmm, this is interesting," Professor Oak speculated as he watched Dragonite trying to execute its Slam attack as quickly as possible. "The challenger is gambling on the thought that his Pokémon is faster at executing its move and can escape at the last second. At the same time, it looks like Lance might be trying to force a tie should the unfortunate happen."

"Why would he do that?" Ash asked, his eyes stuck at the spectacle of Alakazam trying to distract Dragonite while still preparing its Thunder.

"So he can avoid an actual loss," the man explained. "As stated by the league rules, the one who initiated the battle will lose if they don't have at least one conscious Pokémon left by the match's end. In this case, it'll be the challenger who'll be getting the short end of the stick. It's very unusual to be aiming for a tie, but it's a good strategy should the conditions show no way to claim a conventional victory."

"My, that certainly sounds like an odd way to defend his title," Delia thought out loud as she took a sip from a cup she had been holding. "If this happened to be two people fighting and they defeated each other, then neither side would be able to claim any kind of victory. It doesn't seem right for it to be different in this case."

"_Oh, that one's gotta hurt!_" the announcer exclaimed at the same time a loud crash was heard. Everyone immediately turned their attention back to the television and saw the arena now filled with smoke from Dragonite's Slam attack. Combined with it was the electrical static in the air that had no doubt come from Alakazam's successful execution of its Thunder attack. "_Both Pokémon have executed their moves and created an electrical dust storm. I can feel the charge all the way up here in the announcer's booth! I don't hear any movement down there, but we can't be sure what's happening until we can see the arena again._"

In the seconds that passed, the dust slowly started to settle. Soon, faint silhouettes of two Pokémon could be seen standing in the center of the arena. Once it was completely cleared, both Dragonite and Alakazam were standing a few yards away from each other. Each of them were heavily panting and showing clear signs of exhaustion. The dragon was down on one knee with an arm resting as support on the other; the psychic was still on both feet but had trembling hands as it held onto its spoons.

"_I can't believe it; both trainers' Pokémon are still standing!_" the announcer exclaimed in awe, a sentiment that was reflected upon the countless viewers in the stadium. "_That was such a frightening display of power we've been witness to. The fact that they withstood each other's attacks is proof of just how strong these battlers are. This truly is a battle to remember for the years to come! Oh, look at that!_"

Suddenly, both Pokémon started to fall to the ground. While very exhausted, Lance's Dragonite managed to further support itself by anchoring its hands to the floor. For the Alakazam, it merely fell forward with no attempts at trying to break its fall. Its spoons fell with a clatter, and its body caused an audible thud to echo in the silent stadium. With a determined roar, the dragon used the last of its strength to get to its feet.

"_And this battle is over, folks!_" the announcer excitedly concluded over the loud cheers of the people. "_By an amazing show of strength, Lance's Dragonite has managed to endure such a powerful bolt of Thunder. Unfortunately for our challenger, his Alakazam was too worn down to withstand that strategic Slam. It was a really close match, but the winner of the Kanto Region Championship is our defending champion, Dragon Trainer Lance!_"

"Yes; I knew Lance was going to win!" Ash exclaimed as he jumped about excitedly. "He's one of the best Pokémon trainers in the world. There's no way he's going to lose his champion title anytime soon!"

"I suppose that's true, although it was a rather close call for him this year," Professor Oak said as he watched the victory ceremony take place. "I wonder if his age is starting to get to him. I still remember how overly eager he was when he came by to receive his first Pokémon from me six years ago."

"He's only nineteen, Samuel," Delia replied with a soft chuckle. "You make it sound as though the boy's much older."

"He might as well be," the young teen stated as he finally moved from his spot by the living room hallway and headed towards the kitchen. "Lance's been the Kanto Region Pokémon Champion ever since before I started getting into battles a couple years ago. This has practically been his entire life apart from his travels to advance the study on dragon Pokémon. I don't think there's anybody out there who'll ever take the title from him!"

"I don't know if that's true, but it's clear to me that he has a very good bond with his Pokémon," the professor said while taking a cup offered by Delia. "The respect that they hold for him and vise-versa truly shows in their battle performances. Treat them well and they'll gain confidence in you.

"And speaking of Pokémon," he continued on with a smile. "I believe I have a silly little one that's more than ready to come home, Ash."

"Hmm?" Ash questioned, his mouth currently filled with some juice he had poured for himself. He then asked after swallowing and returning to the living room, "You're talking about Pikachu, right? How's he doing, professor?"

"Oh, he's perfectly fine. The Tentacool's poison didn't do that much to him, although I will admit it was good you brought him to me quickly. Each Pokémon reacts differently to its effects, but their poison is always more potent during the mating season. They really should put up a sign on the beach whenever this time of year comes around! Anyway, he's back at my lab ready for you to pick up."

"Thanks a lot! I think I'll go and bring him home now if it's okay. You know how he is when he's either at your lab or a Pokémon Center. He hates having to stay for anything longer than a regular check-up."

Suddenly, there was some light scratching sounds coming from the front door. It at first sounded like some random animal clawing away; however, the occasional sounds of "pika, pi" indicated who was responsible.

"…And he can be a pretty good escape artist when that happens," Ash sheepishly added before going to open the door. No sooner had he opened it did he become assaulted by a yellow ball of fur jumping onto his chest. "Hey; calm down; buddy!" he chuckled amidst the warm snuggling session he was receiving. "You don't need to be that excited. You were only gone for the day. The way you're acting, you'd think I'd forgotten about you!"

"Those two really are attached to the hip," Delia observed with a warm smile. "I never thought they'd be so close, especially with how wary Pikachu was when we first found him a couple years ago."

"Well, Pikachus usually aren't sociable around people," Professor Oak explained. "They tend to have an independent nature and thus take a lot more effort for trainers to train. I'm surprised that this one got along with Ash so quickly, especially since he's not yet a trainer! He must've made a great first impression for it to be so fond of him."

"He's always been a friendly boy, so I'm not surprised that they connected so quickly," the mother said as she watched her son go back into the kitchen, his Pikachu now perched on top of his right shoulder. She then asked in a more somber tone, "How's Gary been doing? It's been a few days already."

"…My grandson's doing fine, despite everything that's been going on," the old man replied with a frown. "I can't say the same for me or his parents, though. It's hard to keep it together when we don't know what's wrong, but we're managing."

"Do you at least have any idea what is happening?"

"I wish I did, Delia. I've asked everybody I could about what they know, but nobody can even come up with a reasonable theory. But even if they did have an answer, I doubt there's much that I can do to help. I could say that Gary not being alone kind of makes me feel better, but it really doesn't."

"And what about Ash? We've been giving him the same explanation the past two days. They're the best of friends; it seems to me even deeper than that. He's bound to notice Gary's lack of presence soon."

"I don't want to worry your son too soon. You know how easily worked up he can be. I think it best to wait until…"

"Pikachu; get back here!" Ash suddenly exclaimed. A second later, both adults saw the yellow Pokémon running out of the kitchen with a can in its hands. He failed to get far, however, as the teenager quickly caught up and scooped him into his arms with a laugh. "Give me back that soda, you rascal! You know it's not for you."

"Chu~!" Pikachu playfully responded as it gave up the can. In return, it happily took a rice ball that was in Ash's free hand and began nibbling away at it.

"Mom, Pikachu and I are going to be in my room," he said as he passed by the entrance to the living room. "Thanks again for your help today, Professor Oak."

"There's no need for thanks, Ash," the professor replied with a smile as he watched the small Pokémon's playful antics. Whatever traces of worry in his voice was covered up with a small chuckle. "Just make sure you stay out of the water for the next few weeks. I'm sure we don't want the same thing happening again."

"Don't stay up too late!" Delia added as her son disappeared up the steps. "You have school tomorrow."

"I won't, mom!" he shouted back before arriving at his room and shutting the door. He then put Pikachu, still nibbling away at his snack, down on his desk which was set up next to his bed. He then asked in a faux disapproving tone, "And what were you trying to pull with my can of soda earlier? You know you're not allowed to drink it."

"Pi?" Pikachu questioned as he momentarily stopped eating. "Pikachu~!"

"I know you like it, but remember what happened last time? You were literally bouncing off the walls! I still remember how you practically made it look like a hurricane passed through my room. Mom almost grounded me for the mess you caused. Do you want something like that to happen again?"

The Pokémon actually had the sense to look sheepish and apologetic before silently going back to noshing at his rice ball. Clearly, he had forgotten about the incident and did not care to remember it now.

"I thought so," Ash said as he popped open the can and took a quick sip. "Anyway, I gotta finish up some homework before turning in. I'd ask you to help, but I don't think you'd know anything about science."

Continuing to nom on his snack, Pikachu moved to a more remote portion of the desk to allow the teen room to work. In the next hour that passed, both respected each other's personal space. The yellow Pokémon was simply laying down and watching with mild interest while Ash concentrated on trying to memorize all of the scientific terms and processes in his textbook. It proved to be pretty tough for him, and he soon quit attempting to complete something he had no chance of ever understanding.

"Why am I even doing this?" he whined after struggling for half an hour. "There's no point to it! This's just the school's way of making us waste our time. I mean, come on; I don't really care about how to figure out the compositional properties of the Moonstone. What do you say about us just going to bed now, Pikachu?"

Said Pokémon merely yawned as he got up and walked over towards Ash's bed. Ash allowed his eyes to follow the yellow mouse and rested on the alarm clock which showed it was a few minutes past ten.

"Yeah, I'll just call it quits here. It's not like I'm going to suddenly start understanding it all, anyway." Downing the last of the soda, he tossed the empty can into the trash bin beside his desk. He then turned off the lights and allowed only the light from his alarm clock to illuminate the room.

Familiar with Ash's antics, Pikachu took a spot up against a wall corner in anticipation for a leap. As expected, the teen leapt onto the bed back first and landed with a contented sigh. The yellow mouse was slightly miffed about the bed's unnatural movements but was otherwise dismissive. Once things had calmed down, he hopped onto the boy's chest and curled up with a contented sigh.

"Are you really that tired, Pikachu? You only sleep on me when you're wanting to shoot for a fast knockout."

"Chaaa…," the yellow mouse yawned. He then shifted around slightly so that his head was over Ash's chest.

"And he's out like a light," Ash whispered with a smile, the sounds of light rhythmic breathing reaching him. "Boy, he can just knock himself out when he wants to. I need to know how he does it so I can sleep faster."

Making sure to not move around too much, the teen reached over to his alarm clock to set it up. Once it was set, he brought both hands behind his head and continued to watch his beloved Pokémon sleep. The view was calming, and the sounds of Pikachu's rhythmic breathing proved to be relaxing. Ash soon found himself getting weary from this. A couple minutes later, he was out like a light and was snoring away alongside his companion.

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><p>Well, I hope this proved to be a very interesting first chapter. I thought it would be good to start things off with some Pokemon action, and what better way to show it than through the finale of the Pokemon championship? I really hope my attempt at writing an action scene was good; I'm still learning about how to do it and hope it turned out alright.<p>

Also, I'm not going to translate Pikachu's speech. Instead, I'll keep it short and try to make Ash's response be key to translating what the yellow mouse said. Just use the soda can incident as an example of what I mean. And at the same time, I've noticed that Pikachu always addresses Ash as "Pika pi", so I'm taking a longshot that it's Pikachu's way of calling him. I don't know if there's really a way to decode some of his speech, but I'm just going to wing it.

And just to say, I'm going to keep to the rule of the games that each Pokemon only has a set of four moves per battle. For one, doing more than four moves in a battle scene might make things confusing for both you and me. Secondly, I don't want the battle to be just a crapload of moves and run the risk of slowing the action with redundant details. If you notice, both Pokemon in the televised championship battle only used four moves at the max. That's just what I'm going to do, have each Pokemon be able to use only up to four of their moves per battle scene. I hope you all don't mind too much!

But yeah, that's pretty much I can think of saying now. I hope that you all enjoyed reading this new story and will take the time to leave a review. They are always very helpful, especially when it's a new entry like this one is. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everybody!


	2. A Morning of Chaos

Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter to this story. For those of you wondering why this story hasn't been updated in a month, it's because of school. College is a real drag sometimes, and the homework I'm to do can really take a lot out of me. As such, most of my stories on this site have had to take a back seat for a while. I still work on them from time to time but not as much as I would like. Oh well, school does have to come first for me. At least I should be done in another couple quarters should everything go as planned.

On a different note, there is another somewhat less important reason why this was late. Over the past month, I've found an iPod app that allows me to watch all the episodes of Pokemon from beginning to end. I was so amazed at the treasure I found, I've been going on a Pokemon binge and reliving my childhood from 1999. It was a total nostalgia bomb from when I was still in first grade. Yay! For those of you curious about the app, I'll put it on here for all you Pokemon fans and those who want to see how it all began but never got the chance to. Word of warning, though; they update their selection every week, so don't be too peeved if you finished the selection for season one and they haven't updated yet. Its called "Pokemon TV".

So yeah, I've gone and done a great public service for all you Pokemon fans who love the series but can't afford to buy cable television. And just on an off-note, who here lives in America and noticed that the Saturday morning cartoon block has now completely disappeared? Seriously, that time block for cartoons has disappeared and is now replaced with "educational shows tailored to young teenagers". I understand that it's a movement to make television stations show at least three hours worth of educational shows, but does the sacrifice of cartoons have to be necessary? It doesn't matter much to me since I'm now 22 and kind of off the cartoons, but what about the young kids who're used to watching it? Talk about an upset and sudden adjustment to a life of no morning cartoons now.

I think that's enough of my ranting now. I just had to get all that off my chest. I hope that you all like this new chapter that I posted. And sorry if the title doesn't really sound all that great. I'm in a habit to put down titles for each chapter in a way that it summarizes what it is going to be about. Even if it ends up being sucky, I still feel like the chapter title needs to be put down. So yeah, don't forget to leave a review before moving on to the next story you want to read.

**Gen. Jok3r:** Thanks for being my first reviewer of this story. As you already know, I've addressed your concerns through private messaging on here. For the rest of you, I'll repeat what I said. The part about Dragonite being weak to electricity was a misread on the reviewer's part; I never mentioned that last chapter.

I understand and will implicate the weaknesses of certain Pokemon types; it's just not going to be as much of a game changer here unless I make the strength level between the battlers insanely different.

I'm not going to use fairy-type Pokemon simply because it's a new concept for me and I don't know anything about them at this point despite having played through Pokemon X.

The Pokemon are going to be using moves they might not otherwise know; I'm simply letting them use moves they may be able to learn in theory. So long as it's not a Charizard suddenly using an Ice Beam attack, I'm bending the rules on what attacks Pokemon can use a bit.

And about the four moves per battle bit. This is simply a personal choice to have each Pokemon in a single battle use no more than four moves. Considering that there will be at least two Pokemon fighting, writing down eight moves can get a bit clunky. However, that's not to say that the four moves I've put down will be the only ones that Pokemon can use. For example, Pikachu in the first battle used Thunder Bolt, Discharge, Flash, and Iron Tail. In the next battle scene, it will be a different set of moves such as Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, and Slam. The moves they use will be refreshed each battle; they will not be stuck using the same four moves like the game has them, much to my annoyance. I hope that cleared up any confusion from my last author's note.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: A Morning of Chaos<strong>

"How are things going at your end?" a man asked. The room was dark save for the light that came from the large wall-mounted television. It was just enough to illuminate the wooden desk the man was sitting behind. He was dressed in a brown business suit and a red tie that had a gold metal pin clipped on the side to keep the tail from fluttering about. On the screen was a person who donned a scientist's coat. However, that was all that could be seen as the form was obscured by a light that brightly shown from the background.

"Everything's going according to plan, sir," the scientist said. The video feed caught some sounds from the background that sounded a lot like shouts. However, they were quickly drowned out when he spoke again. "However, I can't say that the project isn't without its share of problems. We're still on the testing phase, and we need to correct a few glitches before we can commit it to practical use."

"So long as the main system's fully operational; I could care less about your problems. As of right now, all I want is the information we can get from it. The long-term plans can wait until we've gathered everything we need. Just make sure the upkeep of the main system stays your top priority."

"Understood, sir! I'll get right on it." The scientist seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing on. "But what if we happen to run into unforeseen complications? I know you don't like having to be reminded, but anything outside the scope of perfection can prove dangerous. We've never done this experiment at the scale you're wanting us to do. It's a dangerously thin line we're walking on."

"Then I suggest you do everything you can to make sure we don't wander off it. Now if that's all you have to report, then get back to your post," the man dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Don't bother me unless it's to deliver results."

"But what if things don't-"

"Then make sure they don't. You're the lead scientist; it's your responsibility to be on top of everything. Now stop wasting my time and get back to work!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" With a small nod from the scientist, the feed was cut off and in its place was white static noise before reverting to a blank screen. The only light source left came from the suited man's cell phone that sat on his desk.

"This is the most ambitious project I've undertaken," he murmured. His chair creaked as he leaned back. "Then again, it doesn't seem like I've ever done something on this scale before. At least it's good to know that my goals have stayed consistent throughout. So long as I can gather together all the pieces and play them at just the right moment; I will do what my previous predecessors failed to do. I will succeed and have the world bend to my will. All it requires is a little bit of…patience and finesse." With a small chuckle, he took his phone before making his way out of the dark room.

_-Meanwhile-_

"That was great," Ash mumbled as he slowly woke up. He spent a few seconds with his usual stretching session before pulling the covers off and sat on the edge of his bed. "I haven't slept that great in ages."

Letting out a small yawn, he reached over towards his desk to keep his alarm from going off. He was amazed that he managed to wake up before it, especially since he had a penchant for waiting until the last possible moment to get ready for school. However, something was odd this time around.

"Where's my alarm clock? It should be around here. Did I accidentally knock it down while I was sleeping?" Seeing it nowhere on his desk, he figured it fell on the floor and began searching there. He even looked under his bed after failing to find it in the open, but it seemed to have disappear off the face of the earth.

This was when Ash noticed something else strange. Pikachu was gone. He was a bit surprised at this since the yellow mouse often acted as his shockingly effective secondary alarm clock. Then again, he was always the first to be awake and was probably doing his own thing. The fact that his bedroom door was slightly ajar lend further credit to the idea.

Seeing it as a waste of time, he gave up looking for his clock. He now had no idea what time it was, but he was not going to risk running late for school. As such, he walked over to his bathroom to get himself ready for the day.

_…Something's missing_, he thought as he turned on the faucet and splashed his face with cold water. Usually, he would catch the scent of fresh rain from the air freshener he put in the bathroom. This time, he smelled nothing. _What happened to the air freshener? It better not be broken. I just bought a new one last week._ Droplets of water fell from his bangs as he looked over towards the toilet where he put the contraption. Like it was with his alarm clock, the air freshener was missing. _Okay, something's definitely not right. Why is everything of mine just suddenly disappearing?_

Now awake from his groggy stupor and still searching for his freshener, Ash noticed that his bathroom was completely different. Instead of the clean tiled walls that had been refurbished a month ago, the wall was a dirty white. The paint was chipping in various spots, the wall's base exposed to the elements and rotting away. The glass shower door was completely smashed, and the bowl of the toilet was broken in half. The only thing that was still intact and somewhat clean was the sink, although he did not know if it was because he just used it or if someone else before him did.

"Wh-what in the world is this?" he stuttered as confusion and panic swept through him. The general structure and location of everything was the same, but the state of disrepair the room was in did not indicate it was his home. When he ran back into his room, he saw it in the same state as the bathroom if not worse because of the bits of broken furniture spewed about. "How is this my house? It's like an earthquake tore it apart while I was sleeping!"

"Pika pi!" he heard Pikachu frantically call from downstairs. Not wasting a moment, Ash ran out into the hallway and down the stairs. He heard his Pokémon call out again and followed the voice into the kitchen.

"What's going on, Pika-"

"Hold it right there!" a commanding voice ordered.

The teen soon found himself surrounded by a group of men. All of had had guns which were pointed at him. They were dressed like they were in a street gang with sleeve-torn shirts and ragged pants, but the hats they had on were similar to those in the military. The man who ordered Ash had the biggest gun, both literally and physically. Judging by the size of his large muscles and the smirk of arrogance on his face, he was probably the leader of this group. The gun in his hands had two long barrels, something Ash thought was a shotgun based on the ones he saw on television. Standing on the countertop behind him with one of the men's guns at him was Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" he tried to go towards his little Pokémon, but a shot fired at his feet from one of the men stopped him. The yellow mouse squeaked in concern but quieted down when he was poked by his captor.

"You were right, sir," the man standing by Pikachu said with a victorious smile. "This mouse wasn't some wild Pokémon. I didn't think his owner would be stupid enough to just out himself, though."

"Wh-Who are you guys? What do you want?"

"I'll be the one asking the questions," the muscled man gruffly countered, jiggling his shotgun a bit in a threatening manner. It was more than enough to whittle away what little courage Ash had left. "Who are you, and what're you doing here?"

"I-I'm Ash. I live here."

"No shit, boy. As much as a dump this place is, it's a good place for shelter. How long have you been here, and what're your reasons for being here?"

"What do you mean 'dump'? I've lived in this house for fourteen years! I'm only here because I grew up in this place. That should be reason enough! You got a problem with that?" Ash did not know where his sudden flash of courage came from, but he instantly regretted it as the group started sending him death glares.

"Well, don't you have a fire in you?" the man laughed heartily, his action shocking both his men and the teen. "I must say, it's pretty refreshing to see someone with your kind of spirit. But spirited or not, I'm afraid you being here for fourteen years is just impossible."

"And why's that?"

"Because this part of Pallet Town was razed by the war four years ago. Hardly anyone in this area survived that surprise attack. Now that it's a barren land, nobody dares to live this far out from the main base anymore."

"Wh-What did you say?" Ash asked, his mind at a standstill from this sudden fact.

"You heard me. The only people living out here are either enemy spies or refugees from the Viridian City Prison Camp. It's a miracle that this house actually survived the razing from the fire Pokémon, but it also makes it hell to keep searching this place for stragglers."

Ash was unable to say anything to this. How could he? He never heard of any kind of war in Pallet Town. He was here four years ago, and there was no fire caused by Pokémon. And he knew there was no base in town.

"What's the matter, kid? Persian got your tongue?" The man laughed as he walked to the dirty fridge and pulled out a thin bottle. The liquid inside was brown, and the man took a quick swig of it. "What happened to that fire you had a few moments ago? I'm already starting to miss it."

"…You're not serious, are you?" the spiky haired teen asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not one for jokes, especially when it comes to this. Come on now; what's going on in that head of yours?" The man walked up to Ash and lightly bonked him in the head with the bottle. "You're acting like you don't know what's been going on."

"That's because I don't! There never was any attack four years ago. We haven't had any wars for at least twenty years. Viridian City is not some prison camp. And there is no base set up in Pallet Town. None of this makes any sense!" the teen shouted at the top of his lungs. As cautious as the group of men were, they seemed rather calm after hearing such a sudden outburst. In fact, they even allowed Pikachu to jump into Ash's arms.

"…Sir, you don't suppose that the boy's…?" one of the men asked before trailing off.

"He may well be, soldier. Either way, he clearly isn't an enemy spy. Playing the insanity card might as well be a suicide attempt."

"I'm not insane!"

"Pika pi pikaCHU!"

"I never said that, boy. Rather, I'm guessing from your behavior that you might have amnesia," the man added as he took another swig from the bottle. "But don't worry too much about it. It's pretty common with refugees who've suffered an insane amount of stress. Not that I blame them considering how the enemy's prison camps treat their war prisoners. Probably for the best that way since you won't remember the more horrid moments of the war. Believe me, I'd do anything to forget it all if I weren't the leader of this sorry band."

"Like getting plastered in the bar every time you're off duty?" one of the men suggested. This incited a bout of laughter from the entire group.

"Watch it, soldiers. I can easily confide you in barracks for disrespecting your superior." Despite making this threat, the large man laughed alongside the others. Ash and Pikachu merely looked on as they tried to sort out everything they heard.

"…Do you think I have amnesia, Pikachu?" he asked. "Is that really what's happening, or am I just having the worst nightmare ever?" After seeing the disarray his room was in and, for the first time, the mess of the kitchen, he was starting to doubt his memories. He knew things were not like this last night, but was this really how things have been? Was him having a chat with his mom and Professor Oak last night just a figment of his imagination?

"Pika pi, pi pikachu," the yellow mouse replied before giving Ash a light Thunder Shock. He was not happy hearing his friend talk like that and wanted to jolt some sense back into him.

"Thanks, Pikachu; I really needed that. There's no way I have amnesia; you remember the same things I do. But if all this is just a dream, then why does this look and feel so real?" He allowed his eyes to wander as he tried to make sense of everything. "This place looks like home, but it can't possibly be the same. I mean, mom would die before she let things fall apart like this. I don't understand it! …Give me a stronger shock, Pikachu," he said as he braced himself for the familiar feel of electricity.

Pikachu immediately complied without hesitation. His cheeks started to crackle with the electrical buildup before he released it. However, it was a bit stronger than he intended it to be. Besides shocking Ash, a few stray bolts managed to strike the kitchen walls and even a couple of unfortunate men who were in the way. By the time the shock was over, part of the kitchen was destroyed and a couple men knocked unconscious.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" the leader shouted. He had managed to dodge the bolts, but one still manage to shatter his bottle. The brown liquid had spilled onto the floor, the jagged bottle neck in his hands the only evidence he had been holding it. The remaining men that escaped harm immediately pointed their guns at the duo. "You better control that rat before I blow it full of holes!"

"H-He's just nervous!" Ash quickly lied. "You can't blame him for that. I mean, how would you feel if you're being ganged up on by a bunch of guys with guns?" He unconsciously tightened his hold on Pikachu.

The man's attitude soften when he saw this. He stared at Ash as though he were trying to figure something out; his lips curled into a knowing smile seconds later. Whatever anger he had from the minor incident was quelled as he walked back to the fridge and took out another bottle. The others were still on edge and were less willing to drop their guard.

"Stand down everybody," he said before taking a drink. The arrogant look he had been sporting the entire time was mostly gone. Most of the guys looked at their leader uncertainly before doing what they were told. "This kid isn't a threat. With the kind of spunk he has, the enemy would be crazy to use him as a spy.

"Come on; you're probably better off coming with us," he added as he walked up to Ash. Pikachu growled in warning before being calmed by the teen with a pat on the head. "You seem pretty convinced that this war isn't happening. Amnesiac or not, that kind of naïve thinking can get you killed. You should stay with us until you've regained your senses."

"Pika pi…," the Pokémon mumbled as he shot the man a skeptical look.

"…How do I know you can be trusted? You just came into my house like you owned the place and pointed guns at me. I wouldn't exactly call that being friendly."

"Well, you could always try taking your chances being on your own out here. It's your choice on whatever you want to do. Just let me give you a warning, though," the man added as he signaled to his men to leave the house. "This place is the part of Pallet Town that people left abandoned. It makes it pretty easy to be occupied by the enemy. I doubt you two would be able to handle things by yourselves if that happened."

"Y-You're not saying it's happened before, are you?" The man ignored Ash as he made his way to the door. "I mean, you'd come back to help if it did, would you?" The panic in his voice was slowly rising. He still did not get a response. "Come on; answer me!" The man was almost out the door before Ash's panic got the better of him. "Alright; I'll go with you! Just don't leave me and Pikachu behind!"

"Humph, I figured that'd get you to change your mind. Should I take it then that you're starting to warm up to me?"

"I'm only coming along because you know what's going on. I still don't trust you. I'm making a run for it if you try to hurt me or Pikachu." Pikachu let loose a few sparks from his cheeks as they both approached the man's side.

"Fair enough, boy!" the man laughed as he stopped short of the front door. "I just hope our hospitality will change your mind about us. Just don't give me or my men a reason to shoot you and we'll all be good. We're all a bit wound up now, and that pressure's made a few of us a bit trigger happy.

"By the way, I think we should be introducing ourselves since we're going to be together for a bit. The name's Surge; I'm a lieutenant and former gym leader of Vermillion City," he said with a smile.

"You were a gym leader?" Ash asked in mild disbelief.

"I know, it's kind of hard to believe. I got that a lot even before this war happened. How about you? You remember your name?"

"…It's Ash. I'm just some regular guy living here with Pikachu, but I have a feeling you aren't buying it."

"You can say whatever you want, Ash. It's your past; you don't have to tell me anything about it. Just don't go repeating that story when we get to the base. We're a pretty small group who knows everyone. I promise that nobody's ever seen you around here. So unless you want trouble, be careful of what you say. By the way," he added before taking a swig from the bottle and offering it to Ash. "You want a drink? Looks like you could use some."

"What is it?" Pikachu cautiously sniffed at the contents before recoiling and mewling in disgust.

"It's not poison if that's what you're thinking," Surge laughed as he watched the yellow Pokémon situate itself on his owner's shoulders. "It's just some whiskey we keep lying around for whenever we come through here. It's got a bit of a kick to it, but it's great at loosening up your nerves. Just don't get too loosened up or you'll risk standing at attention all night, if you get what I mean," he added with an even more obnoxious laugh.

"I'm fourteen, Surge," Ash deadpanned, completely missing the true meaning of the last sentence. "Alcohol's the last thing you should be offering me. You'd get us both in trouble if somebody found out."

"Jeez, you're a pretty uptight kid. In this day and age, it's rare to see a guy your age _not_ trying to drown his sorrows out with a stiff drink. With how brutal the war's been, especially to all the children, the police don't care much about underage drinking anymore. Oh well, to each his own I suppose."

Ash wanted to be confused about this, but the morning's events left him drained. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and accepted the drinking explanation as normal. Pikachu sensed this and comfortingly rubbed one of his paws on the back of his head.

"Anyway, we better get a move on," the man said as he exited the house. "If we're going to make it back to the base, then its best we go while the sun's still up. Ever since the enemy got their hands on that crazy legendary Pokémon, we sometimes get nights colder than you can ever imagine. I don't think that'll happen tonight since today wasn't scorching hot like a Charizard's Flamethrower, but I don't want to chance it."

Once again, the teen did not feel like questioning Surge about this. He merely followed him outside and was greeted with the cool, late afternoon air along with the most unfamiliar sight ever. The front yard was overrun with tall uncut grass, the flower garden taken over by weeds. The walls had seen better days, black smudges covering a good portion of the once white paint. Probably a few hundred yards away was the familiar wide expanse of land now charred black beyond belief. It was all empty of any kind of life, the remnants of a fire having blazed through evident. The men that were in the house earlier could be seen in the distance scouting the area with their guns at the ready.

"You believe me now that there was a war?" Surge asked. He placed a hand on Ash's free shoulder when he took note of his shock. Even Pikachu was too entranced with the sight to care about the sudden closeness. "Trust me; you're not the first person I've seen who thinks this is their first time seeing this. War can do crazy things to people; memory loss is one of the lesser things to happen. If it makes you feel better, there are a couple others back at the base just like you. Maybe you'll remember them or something else if you met."

"…Can you tell me what happened?" Ash's voice was barely above a whisper thanks in part of the shock.

"You can ask the other guys like you for details. I'll be busy when I get back, so they're your best bet for an explanation. Now come on; we better get going." With that, the man led Ash down the worn path towards the main part of Pallet Town. All the while, Ash and Pikachu took in the view that was their home yet at the same time was not.

"…Just what is going on here, Pikachu?" The yellow Pokémon simply hugged himself tighter against Ash's neck.

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><p>Well, that's it for this chapter. I hoped you liked it. Now I understand if some of you are confused as to where this is going. Don't worry; I have a reason for my randomness. I'm just not going to say it yet since I will honestly risk ruining part of the plot. However, I will leave it to your imagination as to why I've suddenly shifted from a normal way of living to a world that's seemingly went through a devastating war.<p>

On a random note, I've recently found myself reviewing and correcting a fellow fanfiction writer's work. His account is **BannanGodis**, and he's a pretty good writer. However, he's from Sweden and relies on the use of Google Translate to translate his stories into English. I'm sure you don't need any more explanation as to why he/she needed someone to review his stuff. Needless to say, don't be too put off by the terrible grammar the translation machine did as it's not his fault. Once you've gotten past all that, the plot points he has in his story are actually pretty good. In my opinion, a clear plot point is more important than the smaller details in order to understand the story. For his story "The Truth Hurts", I started reviewing his work on chapter 16; his other story, "Pikachu's New Life" shows on chapter 3. Just letting you all know of this great writer for those who like Pokemon stories.

That's it for my shameless advertising of another writer on here. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move on to the next story you want to read. Until the next update on this or any of my other stories everybody!


	3. What is Reality

Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter for you all to read. I noticed that nobody left a review in the last chapter. However, I guess that can be attested to the fact that the sudden jump from a peaceful night at home to a chaotic morning that was nothing like the chapter's original setting threw everyone off. If so, then that's good. Let me say now that everything I do in this story is on purpose. The confusion that you're all no doubt feeling as to what the heck is happening is supposed to be there. I promise that things will be explained as the story goes along. Just be prepared for my attempt at making a story that starts out with everyone confused and slowly working to the truth.

With that said, I've really got nothing more to say. This quarter of college is almost over, but that means it's time to crunch down on the homework and such in preparation for the finals. Thankfully, my classes don't need me to go in class and do those stupid multiple choice and short answer questions on a test paper. They are all English, and they want us to make essays instead. That's good since I have in-class tests and whatnot since they always manage to make you feel inadequate no matter how hard you study.

But yeah, I'm just saying all this since it means I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks studying. As such, I won't be working on the next chapter for now and take a while to post. I know that most of you probably don't care; I don't even know how many of you guys actually take the time to read what I'm saying to you guys. Either way, I just feel it wouldn't be fair if I just disappeared for a little while without having first given you all proper notification of it.

So yeah, thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you like it and enjoy the slight confusion that might be added to what you feel is this story. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story you want to read. It's helpful not only for my morale in writing but to also see how you as the reader are enjoying this story. Classifying the story as a favorite is good, but it doesn't really give me an insight into what you think and how you feel the story is actually going. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everybody!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: What is Reality<strong>

After making through the wrecked but familiar streets of Pallet Town, Ash and Pikachu found themselves in the main part of town. It was like Surge said earlier; the place had changed to look more like a base camp. Many of the buildings were either badly destroyed or reduced to rubble. Tents of various sizes took their place. Men dressed as Surge along with other regularly dressed people came and went from them. If anything, the town now looked more like a refugee camp now than the small friendly community Ash grew up with.

"Welcome to Pallet Town, home for us soldiers and refugees!" Surge announced loudly. None of those who were nearby paid any attention to the loud outburst.

"…You're kidding, right?" Ash deadpanned as he saw his hometown. "This is more like a campground." Pikachu gave an agreeing squeak as he began sniffing the air.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's not too bad. We have some electricity thanks to the generator from Professor Oak's Lab being wired into the town's main power grid. There's also a lot of land for us to grow food and freshwater stream to use. We can last a good while out here. I just wish that Viridian City wasn't cutting us off from our allies so we could get other things like medicine. Oh well, we're lucky to have the next best thing with us."

"But how can you guys live here? It gets cold when winter comes around!"

"Trust me; those tents are warmer than you'd think. But if you think this is bad, then you should've seen how it was before. There were a few people around, and they were barely getting by. I'm amazed how they kept it together before my men came along last year.

"The only reason I even considered setting up camp here was because of that." The man pointed off towards the distance where a large building could be seen. "There's Professor Oak's old laboratory. It's a pretty big place and has a good vantage point over the town. We also use it as an infirmary and for strategy meetings."

"Is the professor still there?" Ash asked, his voice carrying a tinge of hopefulness in it. Pikachu was sniffing the air for something familiar, probably Professor Oak's scent, but did not have much luck.

"No, he was sent to Luminose City in the Kalos Region as part of the PWC. He's been there since the war started. Why'd you ask about him?"

"He's an old family friend. Good to know there's something I know still here." Ash's excitement was building at this bit of good news. "Can I call him?"

"No can do, kid. The place has been placed under tight security. Something like a phone call can't go through without authorization. Hell, the only way to get inside is by being invited first and taken in by their men."

"Look, there's a lot that needs to be explained," Surge sighed as he noticed the teen's shoulders slumping. "How about we go up to the old laboratory? Once we've had you checked out, I'll bring you to where we keep the others who're like you. I prefer to explain things in one go. And besides, you said knew the professor. Maybe seeing something familiar in his place will be good for you."

Without waiting for an answer, the man guided both Ash and Pikachu towards Professor Oak's Lab. Both of them were still pretty dumbfounded with what they were seeing. Everything they knew about their hometown was turned upside down. People that were supposed to be here were now somewhere else. Faces that he never seen were living in makeshift houses meant to replace those that were destroyed. He kept arguing in his head that he was dreaming, but the fact that Pikachu was beside him going through the same confusion was the only thing keeping him together.

"Alright, kid; here we are!"

Ash had been too busy wallowing in his confusion that the walk felt like it was only seconds. Clearing his mind, he saw they were now at the front gates of the lab. Apart from the lack of upkeep present on the building's walls and the front yard, everything looked almost the same. The only real difference was the increase of people in the area, most of them dressed with the same military cap on their heads.

As they made their way towards the building, that was when Ash noticed something different in the air. Even Pikachu was noticing something strange when he lifted his nose to the air to take a whiff.

Normally, the scent of Pokémon musk coming from the ranch in the back of the lab could be noticed. It should have been pretty strong considering that there was a light breeze blowing through at that moment. Even with the Pokémon grounds serving as the backyard, the sound of various Pokémon could still be heard in the front. However, the only thing he could hear was the chatter of the people, most of which seemingly grim in nature.

"Where're all the Pokémon, Surge? The professor kept a bunch of them here."

"Like I said, I'm waiting until I've gathered all you amnesiac guys in one room," the man explained as he opened the lab doors and motioned for Ash to go in first. "I don't want to keep repeating the same damn thing, so just be patient a while longer."

"Hi, Surge!" a high pitched voice suddenly called. "Is that another recruit or a refugee?"

"Damn, thought I could dodge her," the man groaned before pointing over towards a side room. "Look, just head straight in there and I'll be with you soon. I need to take care of this girl now before she bugs the hell out of me!

"Hello, Erika!" he called back as his face morphed into the quickest smile Ash ever saw formed. "How's your apothecary work going?"

"Well, it could be better if I had access to my greenhouse in Celadon City," Erika replied. "Still, I'm pretty amazed at the plants Professor Oak kept around. So did you or your men run into any trouble out there? Anybody need my help in the healing department?"

"Geez, she's a pretty spunky person," Ash thought aloud as he watched the conversation. "Maybe even a little too spunky. What do you think, Pikachu?"

Pikachu merely shrugged before hopping off of Ash's shoulders and making his way to the room Surge pointed out. Not wanting to be left behind, the teen followed his little yellow companion as the two adults continued on with their conversation.

When they entered the room, Ash noticed that it was actually Professor Oak's old office. The bookshelf that held all of his research notes and other kinds of knickknacks was easily recognizable for him. However, many of the reports were in disarray, and most of the trinkets were either broken or missing.

"Who're you?"

Turning towards the voice, he noticed someone sitting on a brown couch with a Marill on his lap. Thankfully, it belonged to someone he recognized. After all, he met him just yesterday when he went to bring Pikachu to Professor Oak for a check-up.

"Aren't you Professor Oak's new assistant?"

"I am, but how did you know that?" the person asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"We met yesterday," Ash explained, hoping that the other would be able to recognize him. "I saw you drawing a Pokémon when I was there, but you didn't see me. Do you remember a Pikachu being brought in for poisoning?" Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder to make himself more noticeable.

"…It was from when he took a swim and got stung by a Tentacool, right?"

"That's right! And then he left the lab on his own and came back home."

"Yeah, I still got the scratch when I tried to stop him." He then showed his right hand to both where a clear scratch mark was healing. The yellow mouse actually had the decency to look sheepish as he mewled apologetically.

"So…So do you think that this war's some random thing you learned when you woke up?" Ash cautiously asked as if fearing the answer.

"…That's the first time I've heard someone say that." The assistant's face slowly broke into a smile. "So you're just like me, waking up and confused by what's going on?"

"Yeah, they're saying that I'm some kind of amnesiac refugee or something. Pikachu and I almost got shot for that!"

"Yep, you're definitely like me. Whatever 'war' everybody's saying happened before, we're the only ones who don't know anything about it."

"Get back in there!" a loud voice suddenly exclaimed just two people entered the room. One of them was practically pushed in by the other. "I thought Surge told you to stay in here until he came back?"

"I was just taking a look around," the tan-skinned teen explained. "Is it a crime to see how much things have changed?"

"Don't talk like you were here before!" the loud one growled, his view blocked by the one he pushed in. "I don't care that you were the former Pewter City gym leader turned into a military leader. I've never seen you before in my life."

"I already told you I'm not a military leader! I don't even know anything about this war! I'm still employed by the Gym Leader Association as Pewter City's official gym leader."

"That'd be all good if the association didn't disband three years ago. Try getting all the facts before lying about what you supposedly do."

"I-Is that you, Gary?" Ash hesitantly interrupted. He instantly recognized the voice from the start. Said person responded by moving into view and stared at the teen.

"Great, another guy who thinks he knows me." Gary's disheveled hair flopped around as he shook his head. His face seemed extremely tired, his movements done half-heartedly as if he no longer had the zeal to do anything. It was a complete contrast to how Ash remembered him when he last talked with him a few days ago.

"What're you talking about? It's me, Ash. Don't you remember? We grew up together. We're b… We're best friends."

"Best friends? I've never seen you before in my life. Last I checked, both people need to know each other before even becoming friends. Not like I care since I don't need one to begin with."

Ash was confused as to what he was hearing. He knew the person that was before him was Gary, but his behavior was very different. The familiar harshness that were put in his words were still there. However, they no longer had that playful edge to it. Instead, it was nothing but pure aggression.

"…Stop ogling me like some stupid fan girl," Gary scowled with disgust. "Do you think I'd ever be friends with someone like you? I can tell just by the way you talk that you're some sappy kid who prefers to live in the past. You're too optimistic for your own good that you've deluded yourself from what's really happening around you! I can't tell you how many people with your kind of attitude end up dying."

"Wh-What're you talking about? Why are you acting like this, Gary? I know you have your jerky moments, but you were never this bad."

"Humph, try living out my life before you go saying that," he scoffed as eyes flashed a bit of sadness. However, it was quickly covered up with an unreadable emotion that Ash had never seen before. "Now if you idiots are done pretending to know me, stay here. I have stuff I need to do, and I don't have time to deal with you all wandering around. Surge will be around to take care of you soon."

"Why don't you try now?" Surge announced as he entered the room. He had in his hands a couple of small pouches that were exuding a kind of pleasant floral scent. "Thanks for keeping them company, Gary."

"Whatever; just make sure I don't catch them wandering around again. You and your men may've taken over the lab as your military base, but don't forget that I have authority over this place in my grandpa's absence. I'm only letting you all stay because it's what he'd want, but don't go wearing out your welcome any more than you already have."

"Okay, I think it's time for your aromatherapy session with Erika," the large man said as he brushed off the hostile vibes from Gary. "You're starting to get irritable, and you know how you get when that happens."

"Mind your own damn business!" Gary shouted before pushing past Surge and stomped out of the room. "I can take care of my own damn health. And get out of my way, you stupid fire fox!" A Pokémon's surprised squeal echoed before a small vulpine made its way into the room. It was clearly annoyed at what just happened.

"…Sorry about Gary," Surge apologized as he closed the door. The newcomer made a beeline towards Brock and jumped onto his lap. "He's doesn't really like my men being here. Personally, I think he just hates this war and everyone who gets involved."

"What happened to him?" Brock asked.

"From what the locals told me, it started at the beginning of the war when his family was killed. Professor Oak was the only one who could keep him together, but he was then called into Luminose City to become a part of the PWC. That was over three years ago. They say he only got worse since then. If you ask me, he's probably just suffering from PTSD."

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? I thought that was something you only get when you actually fought in a war."

"It can be caused by anything from kidnapping to murder right before your eyes," Surge explained. "Doesn't just have to be from a battlefield, Ash. Can't say I blame Gary for his after hearing that he lost his friends and most of his family during this war. Must be hell for him to cope. Erika's the only one who can temporarily relax him with her aromatherapy crap. If we don't, then everyone's a target of his emotional backlashes."

"And what about the PWC?" the guy with the Marill asked. "I don't think I've heard of such an organization."

"The PWC is short for the Pokémon Warfare Council. It consists of the world's highest ranking Pokémon professors. They act as our tacticians and try to judge the enemy's next move. They're also the ones who advise us about how to humanely use Pokémon in this war."

"You're using them for war?" Ash exclaimed. "Pokémon are innocent creatures. You can't use them to fight your battles!"

"I'd say the same thing, but there are no rules in war. If we want to survive, then we need to make use of all the resources we have. But like I just said, the PWC helps us make sure that we treat our Pokémon as best we can. We're not like the enemy; they just have Pokémon fight even when they're about to die from exhaustion. We give them the respect they deserve in this situation. We understand they're just like us and need their time to rest.

"Anyway, that's enough talk about current history; I'm supposed to try and get you guys' memories back." The large man quickly changed topics with a definitive huff as he took a seat on a nearby desk. "So how about we start off with some introductions and work our way from there? You already know me, so let's start with you, Marill-Boy."

"I-It's Tracy," the teen replied as he petted his Marill's head. "I came from the Orange Islands. I left last year to work on bettering my skills as a Pokémon Watcher and sketch artist. I'm right now taking on a job as Professor Oak's assistant."

"I'm Brock," the tan-skinned teen introduced himself. He had since made his way over to the couch and sat next to Tracy. "I'm the Gym Leader of Pewter City and working to become a Pokémon Breeder. I'm not a military leader like that Gary said I was."

"My name's Ash," Ash said as he took the last spot on the couch. "I've lived here for all my life with Pikachu. I'm just a regular guy who doesn't do anything special."

"Well, that was the shortest round of introductions I've ever heard," Surge said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Guess that means I should make my explanations just as short. Let me start off by pointing out all of the impossibilities in what you said.

"First off, let me start off with Tracy's story. The Orange Islands isn't really a part of our geography anymore. Long story short, it's been sunken into the ocean when a group of Gyrados came and used their Dragon Rage on it. The attack was so sudden; nobody on the islands had a chance to escape. So unless you left well over four years ago, there's no way you could've came from there last year.

"Then there's you, Brock. I can try to help straighten out your memories since I actually know who you are. You used to be like me, a gym leader, before the Gym Leader Association, GLA for short, disbanded. Since then, you've enlisted in the army and they recognized you to be the defender of Pewter City because of your gym leader position. In fact, you were one of the few gym leaders who managed to convince other leaders to join in the war. It was a big loss for us when we heard a couple weeks ago that the city fell to the enemy and you went missing. You can imagine how happy I was to find you wandering around a couple days ago, although I was confused about your loss of memory.

"And as for Ash, I've already explained it to him before he came here. He claims to have lived in this town his whole life, yet no one has ever made one mention of him. There's never been a worried parent or friend wondering where he went to. If he really did live here, then I'd have heard everyone griping about him having gone missing. I've been here for a whole year myself, and I've never seen one sign of him ever being around. The fact that Pikachus have since left the nearby Viridian Forest for whatever new home they found leads me to believe that he came from some other city.

"In other words, you three have to be amnesiacs since everything you've said is either from before the war started or just plain impossible," Surge concluded. He had a triumphant smirk as though he solved some complex problem. "It's almost like you guys are living in a 'what if' world where the war never happened. Truth be told, I almost envy you guys for that. I've seen way too many things I want to forget."

After the brief explanation was over, the three teens were trying to process everything they heard. To hear that they were supposedly living different lives or not even supposed to exist was, to put it lightly, mind blowing. At the same time, it was way too strange for them to think of it as the truth. If this was supposedly the world they have lived in all their lives, then why were the memories of the last four years completely different from this war-driven reality? Why was it that they were only learning of this supposed war now?

"…There's something odd about all this," Brock said after thinking on it for a while. He was skeptical about what they just heard. "Let's just say that we are suffering through amnesia. We're all completely different people; the idea that all three of our brains reset to before the time of this war is hard to believe. And then there's the fact that the last four years is completely gone from our minds. Memory loss is often associated with flashbacks based on certain things people see or hear. Have either of you two gotten anything like that when walking here or listening to what Surge was saying?"

Both Tracy and Ash shook their heads. Ash then said, "Everything is different from what I know. I've seen so many things that looks like something from a war. Not once have I had any kind of sudden vision of attacks or whatnot."

"And then there's something else that's bugging me. Surge told us that Pewter City fell into enemy hands a couple weeks ago. However, I remember seeing Tracy last week when he passed by. I noticed him taking a sketch of my Vulpix while I was conducting an outdoor gym battle. We even talked a bit about what we wanted to do with our lives before he left. I know for a fact that this happened last week, so how could amnesia just suddenly replace one forgotten memory with another?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Tracy exclaimed as he turned to face Brock. His Marill whined because of the movement jostling him around. "We were talking a lot about some of the similarities between Pokémon breeding and watching. You even commented about the drawing I did of your Vulpix."

"And I remember seeing Tracy yesterday when I brought Pikachu to get checked out," Ash added; Pikachu squeaked in agreement. "He was kind of busy helping Professor Oak with something, but he was really eager to take a sketch of Pikachu when he noticed him. So if what – I think his name's Brock – said is true, then us remembering these random things but then forgetting everything about this war can't be your typical amnesia case."

"I guess that makes sense," Surge admitted after listening to the three teens. His once triumphant smirk was replaced with a frown. "At the least, there's no way you three came up with that story. This is the first time you've all been together in one room. So if this really isn't a case of amnesia, then perhaps your minds have been wiped courtesy of a psychic Pokémon," he smoothly suggested.

"A psychic Pokémon that knows how to alter our memories? That's impossible, Surge!" Brock exclaimed. "Psychic Pokémon don't have that kind of power. The best they can do is put people to sleep and subject them to nightmares."

"…You really have forgotten about everything, haven't you? I guess it proves she was telling the truth. Do you remember how Sabrina has been working with us over the past year on a special project? She was trying to genetically modify certain psychic Pokémon's abilities. In the end, she managed to teach certain Pokémon the ability to alter people's memories. She even managed to have them be replaced with false memories so the victim won't realize they lost their true ones."

"Wait, are you talking about _the _Psychic Gym Leader Sabrina from Saffron City?" Ash asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. Both Pikachu and Marill had since hopped off of their trainers' laps and started talking with each other. Brock's red Pokémon stayed resting on his lap. "I know she is a supposed psychic and specializes in psychic Pokémon. But was she really able to teach them how to change people's memories? If that's what really happened to us, then why were we the ones affected? Tracy and I might be random people, but then why was Brock a target? Aren't he and Sabrina supposed to be on your side?"

"She was, but that was before the enemy killed her. I still don't know how, but they managed to sneak themselves into Saffron City!" Surge let out a low growl as he recalled the memory. "It was supposed to be under tight security, yet they managed to worm through all of our defenses. I guess they caught wind of what she was doing and used some kind of special unit of men to take her findings. I didn't think they would have people that good at espionage. We paid for that mistake with the loss of Sabrina and Saffron City!"

"So you're saying that the enemy now has access to this memory-wiping Pokémon you were training," Tracy concluded. He had taken a pad and pencil sometime earlier and was taking notes. "But then why would they want to wipe the memories of random people? Except maybe for Brock, none of us are really that important. I think it'd be better if they did it to you or your leader. Such power is practically a game changer!"

"Thankfully, Sabrina didn't completely finish her research. She still hadn't figure out a way to direct the power to a particular person. Because of that, the power is completely random as to who will be affected. And no, distance has nothing to do with it. However, she was able to keep the power contained to our lab since she was a psychic herself and was able to create a psychic barrier. Clearly, the enemy doesn't yet know what they're doing with her work. You three are proof of that."

"So we were just random collateral damage?" Ash deadpanned. "If that's true, then-"

A loud roar suddenly pierced the air along with a strong tremor. The teens fell off the sofa from it, and Surge stumbled to his feet after being thrown off of the table he had been sitting on. The Pokémon were scrambling around in a panic.

"Is everyone okay?" Brock asked as he ran over to a nearby window. "Was that an earthquake just now?"

"Since when have you heard an earthquake roar?" Tracy countered.

"Don't tell me…!" Surge growled as he ran towards the window. Ash, Tracy, and the Pokémon followed suit.

Flying around in the sky were two Pokémon. Both of them were orange and clearly the source of all the roaring. One of them was occasionally letting out fire from its mouth while hovering over a particular section of the nearby mountains. The other was currently aiming some kind of high-intensity beam towards the ground. When it was released, it crashed towards the ground and resulted in a large tremor.

"The Charizard Duo!" the man growled. "I figured they'd be here soon, but I didn't think it'd be now. This isn't good!"

"What're Charizards doing here?" the Pokémon Watcher exclaimed as he carefully watched the two large Pokémon. "They don't hang around in this area. The way these ones are acting is like they're looking for something."

"But the way they're searching seems like it was organized. It must mean someone's instructing them to do this. Are they working for the enemy, Surge?" Brock asked as he knelt down and tried to calm the Pokémon.

"Yes, the Charizards belong to the enemy. However, they're only used when there's something they want to find. One acts as the excavator while the other attacks any who dare to come near. That means they must've found it."

"What're you talking about?" Ash asked. He could not tear his eyes away from the grand display of power before him. "What do they need destroy the forest to find?"

"…The place where ancient Pokémon with great power are said to live; the Ruins of Pokéopolis."

* * *

><p>Well, I hope you all liked this chapter. It's nothing more than an explanation part, but it was also meant to help facilitate in the general confusion as to what the heck is going on. And then there's that cliffhanger I ended the story on with the two Charizards and whatnot. I can promise you that the next chapter is going to be full of action.<p>

That's pretty much all I have to say now. I know, this ending author's note is not all that interesting. Still, I just honestly don't have much to say at this particular moment. Just remember that I'll be busy getting ready for my college finals these next couple weeks and won't be updating things much on here. However, I will once again advertise for a fellow writer on this site, **BannanGodis.** As I said in the last chapter's author's note, his English is based off of the translation from Google translate engine. As such, the grammar and whatnot is admittedly atrocious because of the bad translation from Swedish to English. However, the plot point is there, and he has asked for me to help fix up the English grammar. The two stories he had me help on are "Pikachu's New Life", starting on chapter 3, and "The Truth Hurts", starting chapter 16.

Well, that's really all I have to say on here now. I do hope that you enjoyed reading this new chapter. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!


	4. Caught in the Middle

Hello everybody! Well, this week is basically my last week of this quarter. As such, it means I should be having more time to be making new chapters during my winter vacation. However, I've also recently taken on the job of reviewing and correcting a fellow writer's story on here. I'm sure you know who that is since I've made mention of them in the past couple of chapters, but it is from **BannanGodis** whose writing is good but dependent on Google Translate as he doesn't know English or at least much to write in proper English. So I've taken on the task of helping him with his work and making it suitable for those who know English.

But yeah, I'll be busy helping another fellow writer for the time being. Still, it's not going to be as demanding as college as **BannanGodis** thankfully doesn't belt out chapters every single week like my professors do with the homework. That means I will have more time to write during my vacation both on this story and my other Zelda story that I had put on temporary hiatus. For those of you interested, I had been writing a Zelda story before going to this, although this was a result of stress from school and the need to write something new.

With all that out of the way, I hope that you enjoy this new chapter. It does have some action in it, not like the first chapter where it was more on the television and not really happening to the group. Please don't forget to leave a review telling me how you thought the chapter was and how you think the story is going so far. Review from you as the reader is important as it helps me gauge what you feel is good or bad with what I've put down so far. I've noticed that nobody's really wanting to review, and it's actually kind of dejecting to see how nobody seems all that interested in the work I've put into making this story for you all to read.

And just as a pet peeve, I've noticed that stories that are good in plot but not great in grammar and sentence structure tend to get more reviews than other stories that are just as good in plot but better in grammatical and sentence structure. I'm just wondering, but is it because of the fact that such stories tend to move extremely fast and don't necessarily have a well-developed plot that actually requires a bit of reader attention and participation? Is that what appeals more to you readers on here? If so, then it hardly seems fair that those who are very serious about writing and post on here for practice are being ignored while those who are just for fun and not so much about the betterment of their writing skills are getting all the attention. Again, it's just a pet peeve of mine that I had to voice for both myself and other fellow writers on here who are clearly very serious about practicing their craft. And before anyone says that fanfiction isn't really meant for story writing and reviews, stories are stories regardless if the idea is original or partially borrowed from. All deserve to be read seriously.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'll leave you all to read the new story. I hope you all enjoy it as it will have action and be rather fast paced from the cliffhanger we left off in the last chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Caught in the Middle<strong>

"Of all the times for them to show up!" Surge growled as he continued to watch the two Charizards' actions. "We're still recovering from our last skirmish."

"I thought Pokémopolis was supposed to be a myth," Ash said as another rumble shook the building. "Professor Oak never found anything like that during his research."

"I already told you he's been in Luminose City for the past three years. But that's not the point now; we need to see what the enemy's doing before making our move."

"You're not going to do anything?" Tracy asked. He tried to stare at the man in hopes it would change his mind. "We're already lucky they haven't started using their fire attacks yet. Even without it, they're going to destroy the entire forest at this rate!"

"And you'd rather I send my men on a suicide attempt to stop them? We don't know if the enemy's already there waiting for us. The first rule of war is to keep a cool head and try to assess the situation. I'm sure some of my scouts have already taken the initiative and went to search the area. We just need to wait for their report and work from there."

"Surge!" Gary shouted just as the door slammed open. "Soldiers from Viridian City are starting to occupy the town. Your men need you out there now!"

"You're kidding me!" Surge looked lost in thought for a moment before running out of the room. "Gary, I need you on standby in case we need to use the Pokémon. You three stay in here and don't cause any trouble!" Both guys then ran outside with Gary slamming the door shut and leaving behind a trio of teens confused alongside their Pokémon.

"…I still don't know what's going on, but I think whatever war is happening just came to us," Brock said as yet another rumble shook the earth. "But I don't understand why the enemy would waste their time and resources looking for some mythical place. I'd be more concerned with taking over cities than chasing myths."

"I guess it just shows how power-hungry they are," the Pokémon watcher suggested. "I only heard rumors about strong Pokémon that've been resting there, but nobody's ever found any proof that it's true. So it's either they're taking a gamble on it, or all this is just a ruse to get the town off their guard."

"I'm more willing to bet on the latter. It's too much of a coincidence that two Charizards usually meant for excavation purposes show up just before a group of people start taking over the town. And if what we heard Surge say earlier is true, then this town is nowhere near ready to get rid of the invaders."

"And the only way to escape by foot is through the Viridian Forest. If the enemy's smart, then they'll be coming from there since the ocean is on the other side of town. Flying out of here is out of the question what with those two Charizards going at it. We could probably try getting out through the ocean if there's a Pokémon strong enough to ferry us, but… What're you doing, Ash?" Tracy asked when he saw the younger teen suddenly get up. "You're not thinking about going out there, are you?"

"I'm not just going to sit around while everyone outside is being attacked," Ash replied as he motioned for Pikachu to follow along. Said Pokémon quickly took his usual perch on his trainer's shoulder. "I don't care if this isn't the Pallet Town I remember; I'm not going to just let everyone be pushed around by the bad guys!"

"And how is you being out there going to make a difference?" Brock questioned while trying to sound reasonable. "If anything, it's just going to make things worse. I know you want to help, but I doubt you know anything about fighting in a war. And even if you did, think about how many people you'll be going up against. Do you have any Pokémon besides Pikachu that can help you?"

"Don't worry, Brock; I can ask the lab to lend me a couple."

"I somehow doubt they're just going to hand over what they have to you."

"And what about you guys?" Ash continued as though Brock said nothing. "Are you just going to sit in here waiting for the enemy to knock down that door?"

"To be honest, I'm more comfortable with that idea," the Pokémon watcher hesitantly admitted. "I have other Pokémon, but Marill's the only one with me right now. That and I hardly ever use her for fighting. She's more like my research aide than anything else." His Marill let out a nervous squeak as an explosion could be heard in the distance. "I know what moves she can use, but she hasn't had a lot of battle experience."

"Don't even try to convince me," the gym leader immediately cut in when Ash looked at him. "Vulpix is all I have right now. I may be a good trainer, but there's only so much I can do with one Pokémon. That and I'm not about to put her in unnecessary danger. If you really care about everyone outside, then do them a favor and don't make yourself become a hapless victim. Let the soldiers who know about war handle things."

"So you're willing to just sit here? Don't you remember what Surge said? He said that they're still recovering from their last fight. I don't know about you, but that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence." Pikachu gave Ash a reassuring pat to his head which was returned with a cheek rub. "I don't care if I'm not on the same level as those soldiers; I'm going out there to do what I can to help them!"

"Marill?" the round blue Pokémon curiously chimed as its ears suddenly began twitching. Tracy noticed this and quickly got the others to quiet down.

"What is it, girl? What're you hearing?"

"Mar? …Marill, marill mar!"

Suddenly, the door slammed open once again. However, it was not Gary or another member of the lab on the other side. This time, it was a Blaziken with its foot stuck out after having clearly kicked open the door. Behind it were two men, both completely dressed in black protective gear, who stormed the room with their guns at the ready.

"Everybody stay still and there won't be any injuries!" one of them commanded. "Keep your hands where I can see them and don't say a word unless I'm talking to you. If I catch any of the Pokémon moving, I'm shooting them dead. Any questions? Good, now against the wall!" Without warning, the man let out a single warning shot that had everyone scampering over to the indicated wall.

"Still liking this idea, Tracy?" Ash whispered while their backs were on the gunmen.

"Not anymore!" Tracy whimpered with a visible shudder.

"I said quiet!"

Another shot rang out. Ash suddenly felt a slight burning sensation on his left arm. He instinctively brought a hand over it out of reflex before looking at the fresh hole in the wall.

"I missed," the gunman irritably clicked his tongue. "I guarantee you won't be that lucky next time. Now shut up and put your backs against the wall!"

"Why don't we just off them now, sir?" the other man asked. His free hand signaled the Blaziken to keep watch over the imprisoned group. "It'll save us the trouble of moving them to the prison camp."

"The commander wants to see who is worth more alive. I promise you that he'll see us better dead if we jump the gun. Now quit griping and search the place for more people. I can handle things here with Blaziken."

"Yes, sir!" With that, the second man left the room.

"Now that we're alone, how about we have a little chat to pass the time?" the gunman suggested as he closed the door. "Arceus only knows how long this is going to take. Tell me what you're doing here!" he commanded while threateningly brandishing his gun.

"I-I'm just a Pokémon watcher," Tracy stuttered. "I'm nothing more than a professor's assistant. I'm just here because I don't know where else to go!"

"H-He means that he's just passing through," Brock quickly corrected. "I ran into him during my travels and thought it'd be best to rest here for a couple days."

"Travelers? Such an occupation is quite rare these days. Even though you're currently my prisoners, I must admit I admire your courage." The gunman had a smile almost akin to admiration. He then turned his attention towards Ash. "And what about you and that puny excuse of a rodent?"

"I-I-I live here with Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he took the insulted Pikachu into his arms. "I'm just waiting until I'm ready to go on a Pokémon journey."

"Is that so? How about telling me what rock you've been living under? Travelers are already rare enough as it is; nobody in their right mind would go on a Pokémon journey these days. You wanna know why?"

"You'd probably tell me even if I said no."

"Well, aren't you a cheeky kid? The reason your wonderful Kumbaya trip is impossible is because our organization has nearly enslaved the entire Pokémon population. What good is a Pokémon journey if there aren't any wild Pokémon for you to selflessly take?" the man laughed obnoxiously. "You should consider yourselves lucky to be having those puny little weaklings at your side right now!"

"Are you saying you capture Pokémon and force them to do what you tell them to do?" the gym leader asked, disgust clear in his voice. "How can you do such a thing? You can't treat them like slaves. They're as much a living being as you and I! They deserve to be treated just the same as any other person!"

"Talk out of turn again and it'll be the last time you speak!" The Blaziken stepped up in a threatening manner. "I've already let you slide once when you mentioned you were travelers. After all, who better to tell us about the ways of the world than an aimless nomad? We always find good use with your findings.

"And don't try to pull that philosophical crap on me," the man added with a threatening wave of his gun. "Humans and Pokémon are far from being similar. They're nothing more than tools meant to be used by us as the ones superior to them. Whatever you claim to say they feel is just a bunch of crap. I'm sure I could-"

A loud crashing sound came from outside the room. Everyone, the gunman and fighter Pokémon excluded, turned their attention towards the door.

"Check it out, Blaziken!" The Pokémon immediately complied and left the room without a glance back. "I don't suppose the three of you know what that noise was?"

The teens kept quiet. None of them knew about anything that was going on. Whatever was happening out in the lab's main foyer was the least of their concerns. Only Marill had any chance of knowing what was happening, but her twitching ears were the only signs she was paying any attention.

"It doesn't matter; I doubt anyone could overpower both my good man and my Blaziken combined. Whatever kind of rebellion those left uncaptured in this place are planning will be short-lived at best. Mark my words; our leader's plans will come to fruition. All this resistance is merely delaying the inevitable."

"But what are you-"

Tracy did not get a chance to finish as an orange red streak suddenly came flying into the room. It missed hitting the gunman by inches, and the teens and their Pokémon barely moved out of the way before the object crashed into the wall. They all soon recognized the object to be the Blaziken from a few moments ago.

"Sir, we have a bit of a problem!" the other man ran back inside in a panic. "One of the prisoners is-"

"Tackle him, Arcanine!"

The second gunman that had left earlier also came flying in with a flame furred canine following close behind. The Blaziken had quickly recovered and caught its ally with ease before moving away to a safe corner.

"Is that it? You guys are hardly worth the effort!"

Gary appeared at the doorway. His arms were crossed as he sported a very cocky smile. His clothes looked a bit ragged, parts of it torn and slightly singed from whatever scuffle he was in. The Arcanine walked over next to him and affectionately rubbed its head on his arm. All the while, a much larger pink Pokémon could be seen in the background terrorizing the other enemy soldiers who were in the building.

"Well, aren't you a little upstart!" the gunman growled as he retreated to where his allies were. "You think you can get away with attacking us?"

"That's the plan, dumbass! And I'm gonna be taking those guys with me," Gary added as his Pokémon took an offensive stance.

"Ah, but are you able to do that before I kill them?" the man threatened as he cocked the hammer on his gun. "I doubt your mangy mutt is faster than a bullet."

"Thunder Shock, Pikachu!"

A flash of lightning enveloped the room before the sounds of electrocution reached their ears. The man that had been sent flying into the room was the recipient of the shock. Both the other man and his Blaziken ducked behind a nearby desk for cover. Everyone else was left alone as Pikachu made sure to aim his attack.

"Pin them down with your Flamethrower!"

Arcanine let out a steady stream of flames at the desk where the enemy was still hiding. Intense heat quickly enveloped the room while the flames melted the metal, but the concentrated heat made contact with nothing else.

"Get over here now!" Gary commanded. The three teens and their Pokémon quickly ran towards the door.

"Low Kick!" the command rang out as the sound of something striking metal echoed. The table was then sent flying against the fire flow and caused the Arcanine to stop its attack and dodge. "Now Thunder Punch that mutt!"

"Protect him, Vulpix!"

Brock's Vulpix immediately jumped in front of Gary's Arcanine and brought up a barely visible aqua green shield. It was only large enough to surround its small body, but it was able to deflect the Blaziken's punch. The small vulpine was pushed back a bit by the force of the hit but was caught by the large dog.

"Marill, stall them with your Bubble attack!"

The small blue Pokémon filled the room with a large amount of bubbles. Most were out of the way from the main group, but a couple were still around. One of them touched Ash as he was the last to leave the room, and it painfully popped on his arm.

"How's a bubble supposed to hurt?" he exclaimed just as Gary slammed the door shut and used a nearby chair to block it. "It's just a small blob of floating water!"

"It's the air that's in those bubbles," Brock explained while checking his Vulpix for any injuries. "It's filled with a kind of gas that explodes with a lot of force on contact. It'll probably take them a bit to get through it before they reach the door." A loud slam against said door was heard moments later. "…Or they can try breaking it down now."

"Come on, you guys; we gotta get to the ranch!" Gary shouted as he picked up a broken pipe and swung it at a Zubat that was about to Tackle them. It fell straight to the floor and was struggling to take flight again. "You can come with me or stay and die. It's your choice! I'm not going to have you slowing me down. Cover my back, Nidoking!"

The large pink Pokémon suddenly stopped chasing after a couple of poor enemy soldiers and came to Gary's side. Its skin was heavily dented with a couple of bullets sticking out from the tough hide. Despite all that, nothing had managed to pierce through the resilient scales. Still, it was clear he was getting tired yet showed no signs of backing down.

"Shouldn't you call him back into his pokéball?" the eldest teen suggested as he picked Vulpix up into his arms. "I don't think he's going to last much longer."

"I would, but one of the guys shot it right after Nidoking came out. It's broken, so I can only pray to Arceus he can hold out through this." For the first time since the trio met Gary, he sounded scared. Gone was the rudely abrupt and caustic attitude replaced with genuine fear at the prospect of losing his Pokémon. He then asked in a forced level tone, "You _are_ going to make it, are you?"

Nidoking merely grunted as he nodded his head. Feeling comfortable with the answer, Gary gripped his pipe tightly and made a run towards the back of the lab. The trio and their Pokémon quickly followed just as the door they had barricaded was smashed opened courtesy of an angry Blaziken.

"Flamethrower their ass!" one of the men commanded as he ran out of the room with his gun at the ready. The fiery fighting Pokémon quickly complied and blew a stream of flames at the surprised group.

"Counter with Ice Beam, Nidoking!"

Nidoking turned around and summoned a concentrated ball of chilled air from its mouth. It then fired an intensely frozen beam at the oncoming Flamethrower and successfully cancelled out the attack. However, the cancellation caused an explosion that lightly shook the building and enveloped the room in a warm steam.

"Hurry up, guys!" Gary shouted as he continued his run towards a door at the back of the lab. The steam was quickly starting to surround them and impede their visibility. "Let's move while their blinded."

Sounds of panic from both the enemy and innocent dragged into this mess filled the lab. A few shots were fired, although it was hard to tell who exactly was being attacked. Another Flamethrower was let loose, this one clearly aimed at the group, and nearly struck Tracy as he was trailing behind everyone. Thankfully, they managed to avoid the chaotic mess thanks in part to the cover of the steam.

When they reached the back door, Gary unnecessarily threw his weight against it due to the high adrenaline. They were too panicked and tried to squeeze their way through all at once; Nidoking and Arcanine merely watched in amusement. Poor Pikachu was being squished and jostled around despite being on Ash's shoulder and let out a shock out of both irritation and fear. It proved successful in clearing everybody's heads enough for them to finally get outside.

"God, that was way too close," Ash sighed as he leaned against the wall. Pikachu was cradled protectively in his arms. Everyone else was also trying to catch their breath while both of Gary's Pokémon knocked a nearby heavy scaffold against the door. Some nearby Pokémon looked curiously at the group before going back to their own business.

"Okay, what's the big idea with your Pikachu?" Gary growled as he stomped towards the two. "Did he think it was funny to be shocking us earlier? We could've been killed if that shock ended up paralyzing us!"

"He knows how to control his electricity to prevent from causing paralysis!" Ash quickly defended as he hugged Pikachu tighter. "And besides, he was only trying to help us. He only shocks me when I'm not thinking clearly. How do you think we were able to calm down enough to get out of there?"

"That was because my Nidoking pushed us out. Didn't you, buddy?" Said Pokémon was lying on the ground next to Gary and gave him a confused look. "Your little electrical pipsqueak did nothing to help."

"Oh yeah? Who do you think gave you the chance to have Arcanine pin down those two guys? None of the other Pokémon know how to use electric moves."

"That was nothing but recklessness and dumb luck. You're lucky you got out that attack before that guy shot you."

"Can we please stop arguing?" Brock cut in. His Vulpix jumped out of his arms and was with Marill who seemed pretty shaken up over the past scene. "Now's not the time nor place for this. We have other things to worry about." He then shifted his attention towards Gary. "What was the reason you brought us here?"

"This ranch is probably the safest place we can be right now. This land is just one huge reservation for the Pokémon my grandpa studies, but the borders are protected by an electrically generated barrier. It was originally meant to keep poachers out and wandering Pokémon in, but Surge managed to rig it to shock anything that tries to enter from the outside. It's basically like creating an artificial electrical Pokémon to keep guard."

"How effective would that be against something like a Charizard?" Tracy asked. He had been paying attention to the two flying fire breathers ever since they came out.

"They're part flying type, so the shock should do more than just keep them away." Gary hesitated a bit as he saw the two flyers still at work. "I'm not too sure about it, though."

"Well, that's reassuring," Ash sarcastically replied. However, he was cut off when a mighty roar pierced the air. They all looked at the pair of Charizards and noticed them coming their way. "Oh great, now they're coming here!"

"Are you sure that electrical barrier can keep them out?" the gym leader asked, his doubt clear in his tone.

Gary did not have to answer. The Charizards quickly arrived at the reservation's borders and received what definitely looked like a Thunderbolt attack from the barrier. The electricity did its job well and froze the fire breathers in their place.

"What'd I tell you guys? I told you it'll work!"

"I don't think it is. Look at them!" the Pokémon watcher exclaimed.

It had only been a couple of seconds when the shock occurred, but the two Charizards seemed to have quickly recovered from it. While still being shocked, one of them began to charge up energy in its mouth. It aimed its mouth towards the ground and released an orange beam a second later. The land shook powerfully when the attack made contact, and the electricity that had been shocking them abruptly stopped.

"Th-They destroyed the fence! I didn't think they'd be that strong to withstand such an electrical shock, especially for being flying types," Gary exclaimed through gritted teeth. "Now there's nothing stopping them from coming into the ranch!"

"We're so screwed!" Ash and Tracy said in unison. Brock tried to keep a straight face, but his stance betrayed the fear he was trying to hide. Even Gary was nervous at this turn of events. If the Charizards were strong enough to withstand the electrical barrier and take it out at the same time, its power in battle could only be guessed at. That was something the group was no doubt going to figure out sooner than they liked.

* * *

><p>Well, that's pretty much for this chapter. And as you can see at the ending, everything is at another cliffhanger with the next one definitely going to be a big battle. And I also don't really have much to say at this ending. So with that, I'll say thanks again for taking the time to read my new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before moving onto the next story you want to read. It really does help me see how you as the reader believe the story is progressing and if you are confused about something. Thanks again, and until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everybody!<p> 


	5. Reformers of the World

Hello everybody! Yes, this is me updating this story after having been gone for practically the entire month of December. So sorry for that, but the holiday season along with finals for Fall quarter really made for no time at all to do any of these stories. On that note, Happy New Years to you all! Hope your last year was eventful and that the coming new one will be just as eventful if not more so.

But yeah, this chapter I'm sure is worth the wait since half of it consists of action scenes. I tried my best with it, but I know that this is better than when I first wrote "Star Force Adventures" five years ago which was my first bad attempt at writing action scenes. Hopefully, it flows as well as I wanted it to, although I do admit some points might have a bit more words during the action. Those points were unavoidable unless you wanted confusion as to why that particular moment was even happening to begin with.

Hopefully, I'll be able to belt out one more chapter before next Monday, but don't quote me on that. I have to get books for the next quarter and get things ready for my graduation that will hopefully take place within the next two quarters. This year is definitely going to be busy with the last of my major classes and making sure that I've got everything done in order to just graduate. I swear; the college guideline just to graduate is hell to fulfill if you don't constantly pay attention to it and make sure you're completing what you need to do. Nobody's going to remind you to take those classes; it's all on you if you end up wasting four years and just realize you had to take this one General Education class.

Yeah, that's enough about me griping on how crazy life will be for me in the next six months. Allow me to answer the reviewer's comments and concerns before I officially leave you all to read and do whatever it is you want to do next. Please don't forget to leave a review before moving onto the next story that you want to read. It's helpful for me to gauge how you as the reader are enjoying it, and the insight you provide from your critiques or the catching of my sometimes careless or unnoticed mistakes is always helpful. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everyone!

**xider:** I guess you could say it's Team Rocket whose causing all this trouble. I'm not overly sure about it, though. Actually, I am (for the most part). I just don't want to say too much about it right now. But as of now, your assumption of Team Rocket waging war in another dimension may or may not be right based on what I've already put down for you to read.

And in terms of Pikachu not powering up with the electricity in the fence. I'm not sure if I made it clear in the story, and I'm sorry if I didn't. Ash technically isn't a trainer yet. He's still training to become fit for a trainer's license. As such, he hasn't had any kind of on-hand field experience with on-the-spot tactics. Like with a rookie in any job, his thinking is kind of textbook style than outside of the box. As such, him telling Pikachu to use the electricity from the fence would make him too smart than he's supposed to be at this moment. That and the fence itself is a good distance away from the group. Pikachu wouldn't make it to the closest part of the fence by the time the Charizards made it to them.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Reformers of the World<br>**

"If anyone's got any good ideas, I'm more than happy to hear it," Gary said as the two Charizards got closer. The sounds of their wing beats were getting louder by the second, and the wind generated from them only grew stronger.

"And what are we supposed to do, Gary?" Ash asked with a snarl. "You know all about this war stuff better than the rest of us combined. There's gotta be some way you know of to get out of this!"

"It may come as a shock to you, but I've never fought the enemy before," the brown haired teen sarcastically bit back. "I only know about being a Pokémon trainer; I know nothing about playing war!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Brock quickly cut in as he motioned for his Vulpix to assume a battle stance. Nidoking and Arcanine quickly followed suit and stood protectively in front of the group. "We're wasting time. There's clearly no way we're getting out of this. We barricaded the door we came through, and I'm sure those two up there will torch us the moment we try to make a run for it."

"But why would they care about us now?" Tracy thought aloud while his Marill held onto his leg in fright. "If the Ruins of Pokémopolis really does hold powerful Pokémon, then why are they stopping their excavation efforts? I thought them sending their men here was just to serve as a distraction. …Unless the opposite is actually true!" he suddenly exclaimed, the wing beats now extremely close and the wind nearly drowning out his voice. "The Charizards were just for show to get a group of men to investigate what they were doing. That then made this town a lot much easier to take over!"

"Damn, you sound like you were a military tactician or something," Gary huffed as he shielded his eyes from the dust being kicked up. "And I hate to admit it, but I think you're right. Those two fire breathers are sometimes used as battlefield tanks. They can destroy everything at a drop of a hat!"

"Only if we're the ones to drop the hat," a woman's voice suddenly replied. As smooth and silky as it sounded, there was clear danger behind her words. "After all, such powerhouses need to be kept on a tight leash."

"Although we're not afraid to let them loose on you poor brats," a man added with a light chuckle. "Still, it's a shame since you all seem to be a rather competent bunch. I wonder if you could be swayed to join us instead."

A woman with orange blond hair suddenly jumped off from one of the Charizard's back and was followed by a man with aqua green hair on the other. They were both dressed in clothes that were a combination of black, white, and gray; but the structure was similar to the combat clothing the soldiers in the lab were wearing.

"Who are you guys?" Brock demanded as Arcanine let out a warning growl.

"Isn't it obvious? Boy, and I thought some of our guys were clueless," the man snidely replied. "We're members of the Galactic Chronos Military, a militaristic and political group sent on reforming the world. We're right now here on a special job, and you four are in our way."

"I'll bet you're just here to steal the Pokémon!" Gary growled. "You guys have been capturing all the wild Pokémon in the world and stealing those already with trainers. Reserves like this lab are rare because of you, and I'm not gonna let you and those fire-breathing lizards take what's left here!"

"Well, I see our reputation precedes us!" the woman laughed. "If you already know so much about us, then you should also know that we don't show mercy. So why don't you kids move along and let us do our job?"

Suddenly, the door that the group barricaded a few minutes ago slammed opened. The Blaziken came running out first along with the two men and a few others that were most likely their backup. All had their guns at the ready and surrounded the teens.

"About time we caught up to your sorry asses!" the man exclaimed as he and the others pointed their guns at the gang. The Blaziken was angrily chirping and threateningly punching at the air. "Now it's time to pay you back for making me look like a fool! W-wait a minute," he stuttered after noticing the other two. "C-Commander Cassidy! Uh, Cassidy's second-in-command! I didn't know you two were already here."

"Why do you keep forgetting my name? It's Butch!" Butch angrily pointed at the group, and one of the Charizards aimed a thin stream of flames at them which forced them to scatter. "Commit it to memory or I'll have you fed to Charizard for insubordination!"

"I-I'm sorry, deputy commander! But what are you two doing here?" The men quickly recovered from the punishment attack and retrained their guns at the teens. "I thought the both of you weren't scheduled to be here until later?"

"And let you boys have all the fun?" Cassidy laughed. "We may be your commanders, but that doesn't mean we prefer taking the back seat in all this action. Why don't you take your men back inside and continue rounding up the rest of the rats in the lab? Butch and I will take care of these children."

"Are you sure, ma'am? I captured them earlier, but they're no pushovers. They managed to give me and Blaziken the slip."

"Is that so?" she thoughtfully hummed. "Perhaps you simply underestimated them and are to blame for your failure. But I digress; just do what I say and go back inside. I'm sure you know what happens if you make me repeat myself?" The other Charizard immediately started to inhale and arch its neck back.

"Yes, ma'am! Everyone, back into the lab!" the soldier quickly ordered. He along with the rest of his men retreated back inside to avoid becoming charcoal.

"What're you trying to do?" Brock asked, his stance suddenly shifting to being defensive. "You could've easily had your men take us in."

"Like Cassidy said, we want in on some of the fun," Butch replied with a twisted smile. "Those useless grunts can handle rounding up everyone in town. While they do that, the two of us will have our fun with you four. After all, it's rare to see anyone not affiliated with us in possession of Pokémon. We'd like to see if they can battle or are just for show."

"They might as well be for show against your overgrown lizards!" Gary spat with a snarl. "Hardly a fair fight if you ask me."

"Who said anything about them fighting?" With a snap of her fingers, the two Charizards took to the air. Their eyes never once left the group of teenagers. "They're going to be watching over you four and make sure none of you do anything funny. Instead, we'll be having our fun with these two which should prove better for you," she sneered as both she and Butch threw out a pokéball and released their respective Pokémon.

"…And those two are supposed to be better?" Tracy asked once the light dissipated and he was able to see the newly summoned Pokémon. "They're probably worse than if we fought your two Charizards!"

Standing before everyone were two large Pokémon. One was on all fours with beautiful blue scales covering most of its body. The red blade-like wings on its back looked to be as wide as it and gave off a powerful breeze when flapping. Its sharp teeth shone menacingly against the sunlight as it snapped its maw in a threatening manner.

The second had orange scales that shone like a barely forming sunset. The blue wings seemed small in comparison to its body, but the fact it had just taken to the air proved they were very powerful. It had a face that was admittedly cute, but its eyes shone with determination and experience akin to that of a seasoned fighter. Its nostrils flared as wisps of smoke escaped from them. Scars could be seen marring the Pokemon's white belly, some of which looked as though they were still healing.

"A Salamence and a Dragonite!" Brock exclaimed. Despite the sudden rise in danger, he could not help but stare at the new Pokémon in awe. "They're supposed to be extremely rare and can be a one-Pokémon army in battles!"

"I see you know your Pokémon," Cassidy said in an impressed tone. "That's saying something considering how our organization has made such knowledge near impossible to come by these days. Fortunately for you boys, these haven't undergone enough training to be what you call a 'one-Pokémon army' powerhouse. However, the two of them should be more than enough to decimate you and your weakling Pokémon."

"Who're you calling weak?" Gary and Ash shouted in unison. Both stared at each other for a second before Ash commanded, "Thunder Shock the Dragonite, Pikachu!"

"Don't do it, Ash!"

Brock's warning was a second too late. Pikachu quickly charged up and let loose a strong bolt of electricity. The Dragonite was hit dead on while the Salamence nimbly dodged any stray bolts. However, the orange dragon hardly seemed fazed by it. In fact, all the shock seemed to do was piss it off.

"Why isn't it working?" the teen growled. "Dragonites are classified as flying types!"

"But they're also dragons, and those in that type classification are naturally resistant to electric attacks," the gym leader quickly explained as he and his Vulpix quickly stepped into the battle. "I thought you said you were training to become a Pokémon trainer? Those're the basics you should've memorized!"

"Oh, I forgot about that." Ash then remembered watching the championship battle last night when Lance's Dragonite withstood an electric attack. Pikachu apparently remembered the same thing as he hesitantly retreated from his opponent. "But then what are dragons supposed to be weak against?"

"To a move type that I'm sure none of your Pokémon are able to do," Butch explained. "Now if you're done playing kiddie games, let me show you what true power's supposed to look like. Take a Bite out of that rodent, Salamence!"

"Uh, dodge it and use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu barely managed to pull off the move when the large blue dragon encroached on his space. He had moved so fast; nobody saw him travel the few yards away from the offending mouth. However, the opposing Pokémon seemed to have noticed and immediately changed its course with its mouth wide open at the unsuspecting Pokémon.

"Watch out, Pikachu!"

"Combine Agility with Flare Blitz, Arcanine!"

Gary's Arcanine moved even faster than Pikachu did. Even when the ball of fire made contact with Salamence's exposed side, the large canine was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, the attack was a second too late as Pikachu was already in the dragon's grip and pushed away along with the opponent. Thankfully, it was short-lived as the heavy Pokémon fell with a heavy thud and loosened its jaw. Pikachu used this to his advantage and quickly scampered away, his side bruised but thankfully without puncture wounds.

"Thanks for that, Gary," Ash thanked with a half-smile. Gary merely grunted in response to him. "Alright, let's try this again! Quick Attack!"

"Hail, Dragonite!" Cassidy commanded at the same time.

With a mighty roar, the Dragonite tilted its body upwards and began to beat its wings. The two Charizards quickly distanced themselves from the battlefield but still kept close watch over the teenagers. In a matter of seconds, a chill descended towards the ground, and large chunks of ice fell from the sky a second later. Salamence shielded both Cassidy and Butch with its wings and took the pelting, but everyone else was forced to find shelter and keep from being knocked out by the large chunks. Pikachu was forced to abandon his attack and instead try to avoid getting pelted by the ice.

"Use Flame Charge to protect yourself!" Gary commanded as he covered his head with his arms. Arcanine quickly complied and used the same attack from before but as a way to melt any ice that would have fallen on him.

"Stay next to Arcanine, Pikachu!" Ash commanded before following Gary to a nearby awning for shelter. "How're we supposed to stop this?"

"We could wait it out, but those two would probably kill us during that time," the other explained. Both noticed Nidoking curling into itself and using Iron Tail to swat some chunks away from him. "The next best thing is to try and cancel out the attack, but I doubt your Pikachu can pull something like that off. God, of all the times for both my Pokémon to only know moves that're primarily for attacks or offensive support!"

Both Tracy and Brock were still out in the open and were trying to make their way to the awning. Tracy had Marill on his shoulders while Vulpix was followed behind them.

"Use Sun – Ow!" Brock was knocked to the ground by an exceptionally large piece of ice hitting his head as he tried to follow the two teen's actions. The sketch artist, who was right behind him, quickly checked him out before dragging him the rest of the way to safety. The gym leader was bleeding a bit, but he ignored the pain and continued on with his interrupted order. "Use Sunny Day, Vulpix!"

Vulpix quickly made her way to her trainer while dodging the falling ice. Once there, her body began to radiate an intense heat. However, she was somehow able to manipulate the warm energy and make it travel up towards the sky. As it was insinuated by Brock, she was trying to use the move to cancel out Dragonite's attack.

"Snuff out that little fox with your Dragon Breath!" he shouted, immediately figuring out what was going on.

Salamence merely moved its head as it continued to use one of its wings to protect Butch and Cassidy from the Hail. It then opened its mouth, and a faint purplish blue light started to glow from within its throat. It steadily grew brighter until a visible ball of energy began to form in-between its sharp teeth. A few seconds later, it let in a quick burst of air before releasing the energy right at the group!

However, Arcanine quickly jumped in front of the attack just before it reached them. The contact caused a minor explosion which created thick smoke that enveloped the battlefield and destroyed part of the awning. Ash and the others were now blinded and being mercilessly pelted by both falling debris and ice. Thankfully, their misfortune was short-lived as the barrage ended quickly and was replaced by a pleasant warmth. Once the smoke had settled, they all saw the orange lupine standing strong before them underneath a fiery orange glow. A pale green aura surrounded him and left the grass around him safe from the blast. He looked a bit tired from the effort, but he was clearly far from being put out of commission.

"That's my Arcanine; always thinking fast on his feet!" Gary complimented with a cocky smile, his face slightly bruised from the Hail. Arcanine barked proudly as a pale green aura that was around the group disappeared. Butch was clearly irritated at seeing his impromptu plans so easily dismantled.

"H-How did they survive that attack?" Ash asked. His mouth was open in shock at what he just saw, his lip slightly cut from the ice. Pikachu was at Ash's feet trying to keep an eye on the two opposing Pokémon for any ongoing action.

"It's Protect, buddy; the same move Vulpix used in the lab earlier. As you can see, it can deflect attacks as strong as that stupid Dragon Breath. And it's thanks to that we were able to put an end to that damned Hail storm."

"But then why does he look hurt?"

"Its recoil damage from Flare Blitz, you idiot. Now stop making me explain everything!" The brown haired teen quickly shifted gears and looked at his Nidoking which had been huddled to the side braving the earlier ice barrage. "It's time we stopped just being defensive and start throwing our own attacks at them. And I know just the one to use. Shoot that Dragonite down with your Ice Beam, Nidoking!"

"That beast knows ice moves?" Cassidy exclaimed. A hint of panic slipped through her usually sadistically calm demeanor. "Counter with Flamethrower, Dragonite!"

"Team up with him on this, Salamence!" Butch commanded. "Ice Beam's no joke, but let's see if your tank can handle two Flamethrower attacks at the same time."

With the Hail storm now over, the blue dragon moved a few feet away before gathering warm energy towards its mouth. The Dragonite was also doing the same while hovering in the air. At the same time, the pink Pokémon was busy collecting cool air towards the top of its horn where a bluish white ball was beginning to form.

"Stop that Salamence with Volt Tackle, Pikachu!" Ash suddenly commanded as Arcanine was preparing for another Protect.

"Don't you remember what happened the first time around, you dumb kid?" the green haired man laughed as Pikachu began running towards the blue dragon Pokémon while emitting an electrical charge. "Electric attacks hardly do anything to Dragon-types. And even if it did, there's no way such a pitiful move can hurt my Pokémon!"

"But who says I'm actually _trying_ to hurt it?" he asked with a wide smirk. That comment caused everyone to cast a confused look at him. At the same moment, the attack connected with the Salamence that was still in the process of letting loose a Flamethrower. Its legs buckled and forced it to kneel, but it still maintained its attack position.

"We told you your attack was hardly going to do anything," the woman replied amusedly shaking her head. "All you did was stall by making Salamence lose balance. Now go ahead and burn that Nidoking to a crisp, you two!"

On command, the Dragonite let loose the energy built into its mouth and exhaled a thick cylinder of flames. At the same time, Gary's Nidoking released its Ice Beam and shot it at the offending heat. Both made contact in the middle of the sky and fought for dominance, but the Salamence's attack was oddly absent.

"What're you doing, you stupid dragon? You're supposed to use Flamethrower!" Butch shouted overdramatically pointed at the pink armored Pokémon. "Do it now!" However, the large blue Pokémon made no indication to enact the command. In fact, it seemed to be shaking as though it were cold and became more violent the more it tried to move. "I don't understand! Why the hell aren't you doing anything, you damned Pokémon? Listen to me!"

"You can think of me as a dumb kid all you want, but I still understand some important points about Pokémon moves," Ash said as his smirk grew wider. "They're not only used for attacking but also for support and defensive tactics. I know that electric attacks have a chance to cause paralysis, and that's what I was hoping for. Looks like I got lucky this time!"

"Geez, talk about gambling with your life," Brock murmured, the praise in his voice clear despite his frown. He then shifted his attention back to Nidoking and saw that he was struggling to keep his attack from being overwhelmed.

"So you managed to compromise Salamence's usefulness; that doesn't mean Dragonite isn't able to beat you by himself!" Cassidy cockily exclaimed. "Throw all your power into that Flamethrower! Show these brats why they should fear us!"

With a mighty beat of its wings, Dragonite managed to strengthen its attack. The flames were much fiercer and nearly covered the offending Ice Beam. Nidoking was clearly struggling to keep up his end of the battle, but his attack was slowly being overwhelmed by the intense heat. Not even Vulpix's Confuse Ray, a move her trainer shouted during the chaos, did anything to distract the dragon. It was only a matter of time before the pink Pokémon would lose his strength and be defeated.

"Damn it; he can't keep this up!" Gary growled as he watched the battle slowly going downhill. His usually cool demeanor was quickly crumbling away, and an unusual panic was starting to take over. "It's too late for him to stop and get away. But if this keeps up, he's going to be burned to a crisp! God damn it; why is this happening again? It's just like before when Umbreon was trying to…!" His voice cracked before he could finish, and he fell to his knees as he tore his eyes away from the dire scene before him. "I-I don't want someone else I care to be gone because of me!"

"Gary, are you–"

"Use Helping Hand to support Nidoking!" someone commanded, effectively drowning out Ash mid-sentence.

In a quick second, Tracy's Marill took to the battlefield and started hopping around in a dance-like fashion. An ominously translucent aura soon surrounded her before getting absorbed by Nidoking. Suddenly, the Pink Pokémon seemed to have more energy and used the boost to strengthen the intensity of his Ice Beam.

"He's…getting stronger!" Ash exclaimed in awe after seeing the once drained Pokémon suddenly able to match the Flamethrower's strength. "So that's what Helping Hand's supposed to do."

"Now weaken Dragonite's attack with Water Sport!"

Once again, Marill started her dance-like hopping. This time, a blue aura surrounded her before changing into a thin sheen of water that quickly expanded around the battlefield. Gary looked up just in time to witness this as a moist sensation passed through him and everyone else. However, their skin did not have any visible water on it despite the wet feeling. Dragonite was not as lucky with this as his fire attack was surrounded by an aura of water that diminished it in both size and strength. With this perfect storm in play, Nidoking's Ice Beam was able to cut through the flames and land a direct hit on the surprised Pokémon.

"What the hell?" Cassidy exclaimed as the orange dragon fell to the ground with a loud thud that caused the earth to tremble. His body was covered in a thin sheet of ice, and he could barely move in his frozen condition. "This doesn't make any sense! The Pokémon you have shouldn't be able to stand up to Dragonite. We had our reconnaissance team make sure of that before we attacked!"

"Brute strength isn't everything," Brock said. He had since recovered from his injury and was standing alongside Tracy. Both Marill and Vulpix were also together and ready to continue the fight. "Teamwork and strategy can be just as effective in a battle if not more so. As you just saw, your Dragonite's raw power couldn't match our combined strength!"

"So you think relying on teamwork and dumb luck will to be enough to for you to make a fool of us?" Butch growled. His teeth were audibly grinding as he tried to compensate for their setback. "Let's see how smug you'll be once I've done this! Hyper Beam those brats and their Pokémon into oblivion, Salamence!"

The teens' Pokémon immediately formed a defensive line in front of their trainers, most of them tired but ready to take on the next attack. However, that was all they did as they kept watch over the blue dragon and noticed it was still the same as when Pikachu attacked it. It was still randomly shivering every time it tried to move and unable to do more than turn its head to stare at Butch.

"You're still paralyzed?" he shouted. He then ranted while punching the poor Pokémon, "Our military's trained you to be stronger than this! You snap out of it now or you'll be paying with more than just your lost meals!"

"Pokémon can't break out of paralysis just like that," Ash explained, wincing at each hit that landed on Salamence's neck. "They need medicine to get better."

"That or they need to be pretty determined to snap out of it on their own," Tracy added as he carefully watched the abused Pokémon. "Just because they're strong doesn't mean they'll be able to pull it off. Either way, you can't beat up on your Pokémon just because you neglected to prepare for it!"

"As if you have the right to talk!" Cassidy angrily spat out. She immediately recalled Dragonite into his pokéball without bothering to hurl verbal and physical abuse at him. Her partner gave one last punch before begrudgingly recalling Salamence. "We had the upper hand thanks to our careful planning and surprise attack. It should've been impossible for your inferior Pokémon to have beaten our superior ones! How you managed to get the better of us is beyond me, but we're done playing around. Come to us, Charizard!"

With a pair of mighty roars, the Charizards flew back onto the battlefield. The teens had completely forgotten about them, and most of their Pokémon visibly hesitated at the large forms landing before them. Their wings were flapping so powerfully that dust was picked up from the ground and obscured the area.

"If you really think your dumb luck and precious teamwork is all that great, then let's see if it can help you fight your way out of this," she cackled as the air cleared. "But don't think that you'll last as long as you did in our last battle. These two are much stronger than Dragonite and Salamence. After all, we don't put them out on decoy missions for nothing. To demonstrate, I think a couple of Infernos will suffice."

"Commander Cassidy; Commander Butch!" an enemy soldier shouted as he suddenly ran out of the laboratory. His clothes were pretty damaged, and his hands were devoid of a weapon. He shoved his way past both the teens and their Pokémon before coming to a stop before the two commanders. "We're in trouble, sirs!"

"What is it?" Butch irritably demanded. "Can't you see we're about to take care of a few brats? Go back to your post!"

"But this is important, sir!" the soldier implored despite the death glares that were shot at him. "Our position's been heavily compromised. We can't continue to hold our own without the aid of reinforcements!"

"What did you say?"

"How did this happen?" the woman exclaimed, the two Charizards casting a Scary Face at the petrified newcomer. "The crew we brought was supposed to be enough without having to waste resources. Where did things go wrong?"

"Well, we severely underestimated one of them. He's a lot stronger than–"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut through the sky and struck the soldier. He was knocked unconscious in an instant. Everyone else was either pushed back from the force of the electricity or managed to barely hold their ground. The Charizards immediately used their wings to protect the two commanders from any harm. When most of the electricity cleared the air, a Raichu was seen standing on the downed soldier with its arms crossed in a smug fashion, its cheeks sparking dangerously as it stared down Butch and Cassidy.

"I think your man was going to say that I took down your occupation force," a familiarly gruff voice said. Turning around to see the newcomer, the teens were instantly relieved to see Surge walking out of the lab. "Then again, that Thunder did shut him up before he could get there. Oh well, that's one last enemy to take care of."

"Well, if it isn't Lt. Surge," Cassidy said in a voice of both surprise and contempt. "I'm surprised to see you here. I never thought you'd still be around after our last little skirmish on Mt. Moon. In fact, our intel said that you died there protecting your fat rat!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't believe everything your men tell you," the lieutenant simply replied while flashing a cocky smile. "Although I don't blame them for handing you the wrong information. After all, it was hell to make sure the skills I learned from the Lucario of Cameran Castle would work in faking my death. I really must thank you for that opportunity; it gave me a chance to work on things behind the scenes. I must say, you watching every little move I made was starting to get real annoying."

"Even with Cameran Castle defeated, you still manage to use their techniques to make fools of us!" Butch growled through gritted teeth before flinching at the small spark of electricity Raichu aimed at him. "Why can't you just die along with the rest of the Cameran legacy? Your powers are in the way of our boss's plans!"

"Their legacy _is_ dead. You saw to it two years ago right after my training with them was completed. Right now, I'm nothing more than one of their last successful students who is hell bent on making sure you stop killing destroying innocent people's lives and to free every single Pokémon you've captured!"

"What are they talking about?" Tracy whispered as the three adults continued with their heated discussion.

"They're talking about some castle in Rota," Ash answered. "I've only been there once on vacation, but it's somewhere here in Kanto. I never heard of the place ever having Lucario or that they were able to train people in things, though."

"That's because it was supposed to be a secret from people outside of the high-ranking military," Gary explained. He had since recovered from his breakdown and was keeping an eye on the two Charizards. "All humans have a certain energy in them, but it's rare to find one who has a high concentration of it. It's even rarer for one to be able to harness that energy and to do things any ordinary person would consider superhuman."

"And how do you know about that?" Brock questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't you just say that this secret lesson was only known to those in the military of high ranking? I somehow doubt you're of that rank."

"That's because I'm one of those rare humans who's able to harness this power."

"I've had just about enough of this!" Cassidy shouted, bringing the teens' attention back to the matter at hand. "First it was those kids who managed to take out two of our top Pokémon. Then we come to learn that you, one of the organization's top enemies, is still alive and managed to ruin our plans. I've heard just about enough bad news to last me the month!"

"Then how about you take you and your men out of this town?" Surge suggested in a stoic tone. "You've already failed in trying to both steal the Pokémon; there's no reason for you to be here now." He then added in a sarcastic tone, "And besides, all this stress can't possibly be good for your complexion."

"Don't think you can gloat just because you survived yet another day!" Butch spat out as he hopped onto one of the Charizards's back. Cassidy quickly followed his example. "Mark our words; we will destroy you and the last of Cameran Castle's surviving remnants. After that, our boss will turn this world into a place fitting for his vision!"

"Unfortunately, none of you will be around to see that happen," the woman jeered as the two stopped flying upwards. "Let's see if you can fake your way out this time. Use Blast Burn on those fools!"

"Those two know that move?" the lieutenant exclaimed, his once confident and cocky tone now riddled with panic. He then quickly turned to Gary before saying, "I know you're not that good yet, but I can't handle the attack on my own!"

"You don't have to ask twice," Gary coolly replied as both he and Arcanine stood by the man's side. At the same time, the two Charizards were charging up a ball of fire in their mouths that was steadily growing bigger with each passing second. He then commanded Tracy, "Have that Marill use Water Sport again. We'll need all the help we can get!"

"Okay," Tracy dumbly replied. He and the rest of the group were completely confused as to what was going on. Still, Marill did as she was instructed and once again covered the area in the strange dry-yet-wet-feeling aura. At the same time, Arcanine began surrounding itself with a greenish-blue aura of Protect. Gary and Surge were also surrounded by the same barrier, except that it looked more like they were generating it themselves rather than being fully covered by the canine's abilities!

"You two can use Protect!" Ash and Brock both exclaimed. Tracy merely stared at the sight in stunned awe while their Pokémon looked on in amazed confusion. Then Ash shouted, "How're you able to use Pokémon moves?"

"Cameran Castle!" Gary shouted back just as the two Blast Burns finished prepping and came at them. Because of the three-man barrier set up, the flames stopped short of reaching the group. However, the intense heat was a completely different story and caused some to instantly pass out with others quickly losing consciousness.

"Th-This's insane!" Tracy gasped, his body clearly having a hard time coping with the drastic temperature change. "This is the weakened version with Marill's Water Sport? I hate to think how it'd be without it!"

"You think some measly fire dampener's going to be enough to stop this attack?" Cassidy cackled. "You've obviously never seen any of our Charizards in battle before. Consider this to be your first and only opportunity!"

"I think…I'm getting a burn!" Ash hissed as he looked at his arms. Sure enough, the heat was causing his skin to start blistering. He then collapsed from a combination of the increasing pain and heat with most of the other Pokémon following suit. Even Vulpix was reaching her limits despite being a fire Pokémon herself. His vision was starting to blur, and he could barely hear Gary and Surge over the roar of the flames and his fading consciousness.

"Damn it; this is stronger than I thought!" Surge grunted as he tried to keep the Protect up. His arms were shaking from the effort, and he was starting to show signs of being burned. Gary was also suffering through the same thing while Arcanine slowly fell to the ground. "I-I don't think we're making it this time!"

"Says the guy who's always cockily optimistic!" Gary half-chuckled before chancing a glance behind him and saw the rest either unconscious or barely hanging on. "And what about them? They weren't supposed to be dragged into this mess!"

"Nobody was supposed to be! It's because of this goddamned war! If only this whole thing never started…!" The Lieutenant let out an agonizing yell as the flames slowly pierced through his barrier and engulfed his hands. "Damn it! I-I can't…!"

"Oh, shit; did we really win Pallet Town's safety just to die from this?" the other growled through gritted teeth as his body was slowly consumed by the flames. He then said in an oddly calm tone with no hints of pain, "I guess…it's time for me to see him and Umbreon again. Damn; I hoped to be older than now for that," he added with a strained chuckle just before being completely swallowed by the fire.

"You deserved better than this…," Surge murmured with a heavy sigh. "I wonder how much time I've bought everyone by screwing with the enemy's plans. If only we knew then the things we know now."

That was the last thing Ash heard before his dwindling consciousness took his hearing. His eyes barely registered both Surge and Arcanine being surrounded by the fire as the world grew dark. The heat rising to completely unbearable levels and further blistering his skin was the last thing he felt before completely succumbing to the serenity of sleep, his right hand falling onto his near-unconscious Pikachu's fur-singed arm.

* * *

><p>Well, this was definitely an action-packed chapter with a sort of cliffhanger ending! I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I tried to make it obvious that Dragonite and Salamence are much stronger than the group's Pokemon just by the fact that the two hardly have to move to overwhelm them. Everyone else is basically playing defensively until Gary decides to chance it with Nidoking who's probably the strongest they got but still not good enough on his own. The one thing I liked about the anime was that the moves Pokemon used could be used strategically and together, not like the game where it's one move at a time and moves (like Arcanine with Flare Blitz and Agility) can't be combined into one move.<p>

In that respect, I was trying to go for a fire-based Quick Attack and created it when I found none. You know how the water move classification has Aqua Jet which is basically Quick Attack with water? The fact that Gary could think fast and combine moves on the spot was also meant to show how experienced he is out of the group. it was also a chance to show that Ash is just a beginner since he had to ask about a move he's never seen before. I was planning to do something like that with Brock and make him seem experienced, but I just couldn't see Vulpix being that experienced at this particular moment. And yes, I know Flame Charge is an attack. Like I said earlier, the anime allowed for attacks to be used in ways they were not originally intended to be used. In this case, it was a defensive technique against Dragonite's Hail.

And yes, aura powers will be making an appearance in this story. I've only just finished watching "Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" and saw the power of aura. It's an interesting concept, and I thought I'd give it a try to interpret it in my own way. I haven't watched any episodes from the ninth season onwards since they moved the show to cable television, so I don't know if they ever elaborated on Ash's usage of aura. Either way, I'm going to input aura for this story in my way.

One more point. I'm going to try and have each Pokemon play a designated role. For those of you confused as to what I mean, think on the days of Final Fantasy before the PS2 was invented. Each character in the games had their own role, be it thief or white mage. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Marill was primarily playing support by boosting Nidoking's strength and weakening Dragonite's. Nidoking played the role of a character with high defense since he was fighting in the last chapter and now has to fight again. And Pikachu was more of some kind of magic user whose role was more on the debilitation of the enemy (Salamence) via status effect (paralysis). They will all play a certain designated role based on the current battle scene I'm showing and made known to you from the moves they use. However, it's not like Marill will once again be purely supportive next time she makes an appearance (that's just an example, not a promise; Tracy's Marill wasn't exactly a battler in the anime, after all).

Well, I hope I covered everything that's important. If there's anything else that you're confused about or felt I failed to mention on here, feel free to PM me or leave it in the review. I just want to make sure you understand how this story is being formatted, and I can't exactly explain all this in the story itself without breaking the fourth wall. On that note, please don't forget to leave a review before leaving with your thoughts on how this new chapter was. I really tried my best with all the action here, and I hope that it flowed well enough to be considered a good read. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!


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